


when words are not enough

by orphan_account



Series: Haikyuu!! music school AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AND GAY, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Classical Music, Alternate Universe - Orchestra, Classical Music, Consensual Underage Sex, Dumb teenagers being dumb, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Music, Musicians, Underage Drinking, everyone is angsty, is it underage in japan idk, this is such a mess I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-05-28 19:59:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6343207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haikyuu!! musician/music school AU. </p><p> </p><p>  <em>"People who make music together cannot be enemies..at least not when the music is playing."</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. They hate people like you

**Author's Note:**

> So I had an idea for a music school AU and I just really wanted to write something for haikyuu!! so here's this. I don't actually know where I'm going with this but let's just see where it goes.
> 
> I will add youtube links and stuff to the pieces of music the characters are playing just in case you don't know them! I will also try to add some explanations in the notes at the end about any music-y stuff I talk about just so it makes sense to everyone.

The early morning Tokyo cityscape danced on the reflections of the train window, its too tall buildings and bustling streets burning onto the excitable Hinata Shouyou’s irises. He was so worked up and antsy that he had to apologise to at least three different businessmen after accidentally knocking his violin over, sending it into a head on collision with their briefcases. Hinata grabbed the solid black, slightly scuffed case and hugged it close to his body. His violin was the most important thing in the world to him even if it wasn't the fanciest, most expensive one out there. Hinata liked the way it sounded. Second-hand instruments always have a character about them, something that can’t be manufactured. 

Hinata pulled a crumpled note from his pocket. It was from his middle school friends, ‘Hinata! We’re going to miss you so much when you go off to Tokyo but we know you’re going to have so much fun and be really famous one day. Do your best and work hard!’ We love you.’ He smiled a little, remembering the days he spent with his friends in their tiny middle school orchestra. They didn’t even have a conductor but they all worked hard and played whenever they could to whoever would listen. His friends were the ones who pushed him into auditioning for Watashiri Music School, thinking that he deserved better and could go on to become something bigger. Their support is what fuelled Hinata the most. He couldn’t let them down, no matter what.

An electronic voice called over the quiet hum of the train, announcing Hinata’s stop. The small, redhead boy sprung to attention as if suddenly being woken from a dream and shuffled towards the train doors, shoving the note back into his pocket. On his departure from the train he was blatantly shoved aside by impatient men and women making their way to their regular nine to five. None of this phased Hinata in the slightest, despite the fact that he had grown up in a tiny town with a population amounting to no more than a few thousand and had never once experienced the trials and tribulations of rush hour Tokyo. Hinata emerged from the train station with a map in hand and a confused look on his face. His brows knotted together in an almost theatrical fashion as he studied the map then compared it to any street names he could find. Letting out a cry of anguish, he scanned the street for anyone who could help. It felt like hundreds of people flitted past him every second, their voices mixing and overpowering each other in a haze of noise and colour. 

A few moments later something caught Hinata’s eye: a violin case. A dull red one with several faded stickers covering it. It was hard to make out what the stickers were in the crowd but Hinata assumed they were relating to some video game. He then looked to the owner of the case. He was a boy around the same age as him, short like him too, with longish dyed blonde hair. He seemed very enclosed in himself and he never once looked up at anyone else as he walked down the street. One of his hands carried his violin case, the other his mobile phone. The boy was too engrossed in whatever he was doing on his phone and didn't seem to be paying much attention to the other person walking with him. Hinata eyed the other person, a tall, dark haired boy who wore a mischievous grin on his face. He wasn't carrying an instrument case but had a pile of disorganised sheets hanging from a folder which he held under his arm. He was chatting away aimlessly to the blonde boy. 

The two guys passed in a flurry and Hinata caught the end of what he thought was supposed to be a joke, “…and then Bokuto goes, ‘But I thought we were playing pin the tail on the donkey!’ That guy is ridiculous, he fucking kills me!” The boy who was walking with the owner of the violin case burst into fits of laughter. He looked down to the shorter boy, wiping tears from his eyes and expecting a reaction to what he thought was the joke of the century. 

“I still don’t get that joke no matter how many times you tell it,” his face and voice were deadpan. 

Without even thinking twice, Hinata shouted on the pair, grabbing at the shorter boy’s shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. He immediately withdrew after seeing him flinch at his touch. 

“Um, I’m sorry, I…” Hinata motioned towards the red violin case, “Are you going to Watashiri Music School?” 

“Indeed we are, you?” The taller boy responded, smiling wide and friendly, looking down at Hinata through his long fringe. Something about the way his eyes glowered down on him reminded Hinata of a cat. Hinata responded by nodding forcefully. 

The tall boy put his hand on Hinata’s shoulder, steering him round and urging him to walk with them, “Well, look no further. We will be your official escorts for the day but don’t get any funny ideas, we charge extra for overnight clients.” He sniggered and winked at Hinata, causing his friend to groan and roll his eyes. 

The blonde boy noticed the puzzled look on Hinata’s face and leaned around the taller boy’s back and whispered, “That was a joke by the way. Just laugh, it makes him feel better about himself.”

"Hey!” The tall boy gave him a nudge, “I’m hilarious. Anyway, I’m Kuroo Tetsurou, third year and first study pianist. Pleasure to meet you.” He extended a hand to Hinata.

Hinata seized his hand and shook it with a little more vigour than was perhaps necessary, “Hinata Shouyou, first year, first study violinist! Please treat me well!”

“Whoa nice, Kenma, he’s the same as you! There's so many violinists these days.” 

The boy, who Hinata had now learned was called Kenma, looked up briefly from his phone and tried a small smile before immediately turning back to his screen.

Kuroo laughed breezily, effortlessly weaving his way through the crowded streets, “Don’t worry about him, he’s not really a people person.” He turned to Hinata, eyeing him up and down for a second, “I know you’re a first year but you’re pretty short, huh? Even shorter than Kenma.” 

Hinata cried out in offence. He saw Kenma give a little jab to Kuroo’s side. 

“Nah, I’m just kidding. Stuff like that makes no difference at our school. So, how good are you?” 

Hinata didn’t really know how to tackle that question, “I, um, well I got a scholarship because my parents can’t really afford for me to go, so I guess..”

“Wow, really? Scholarships are pretty hard to get. I only know a couple people who could get one. I guess that answers my question then.” Kuroo looked genuinely impressed. Hinata thought this was someone that he wanted to be friends with.

“I know there are a lot of talented people at your school who have a lot of experience, but I’m going to work really hard to make up for the fact that I’ve never really had a proper teacher before..”

Kuroo and Kenma cut him off with a mutual, “What?!”

“Seriously? You’ve never had a proper teacher? You’re self-taught?” Kuroo asked in complete disbelief. He’s got to be pretty naturally talented to pull off something like that, Kuroo thought to himself. 

“Well, yeah. My middle school was pretty small. The orchestra I played in never had a proper conductor and we all just taught ourselves.” Hinata was beginning to realise how different he was from the type of people who go to prestigious music schools. He had such a different background and nowhere near the amount of training and experience as any of them. 

Kuroo smiled wide and spoke in a genuine voice to Hinata, “That’s hardcore, man. Congrats on getting accepted, that’s a pretty big deal for someone with your musical background. I look forward to hearing you play.” 

“Thank you very much! And I look forward to hearing you play too at some point.” Hinata bowed slightly and ended up colliding with a woman and her daughter who were walking the opposite way down the street.

Kuroo laughed amongst Hinata’s apologies to the woman. He began to crack his fingers, “So you should be, I’m pretty good. So is Kenma. We’ve got a recital next week, you should come watch.” 

“Yes, I will!” 

They turned a corner and Kuroo seemed to change all of a sudden. Hinata caught a sort of darkness in his eyes as he turned so Hinata could no longer see his face, “Good. You know, you’ve got a really good attitude, Hinata, but that alone won’t get you anywhere here. They’ll beat it out of you in a week or two so try not to get ahead of yourself. There are people at this school who've worked really hard for a very long time and they hate people like you.” 

Hinata shivered visibly. How could a guy go from being so friendly and relaxed to this? 

With the flick of a switch, Kuroo was back to himself again, “Anyway, it’s not too far from here.” 

In a matter of minutes they approached the school. Hinata stood in front of the large collection of steps before the main entrance, staring and guffawing. He had the same look on his face as a child who was admiring their presents under the Christmas tree before they would lunge to tear the wrapping paper to shreds. The school was massive, far bigger than Hinata had expected. It certainly gave off the air of a well-respected, modern school, decked out with the facilities expected of any prestigious high school for gifted young musicians. 

Kuroo waved from the top of the steps, “Hinata, we gotta go now! Catch you later!” Hinata shouted in agreement and waved back vigorously. He clung to his backpack straps and tried to hold in the smile that was itching its way onto his face. 

Hinata took a couple of deep breaths in and out, readying himself before he sprinted up the stairs at an incredible speed. As he was running it occurred to him that if he hadn't wanted to become a musician, he would’ve been an athlete. 

Once he reached the top of the stairs, Hinata took note of his surroundings. Students milled around in all directions. Everyone seemed so busy and enthusiastic, some carrying their instruments and speeding off to classes or rehearsals whilst others were trying to balance several folders of sheet music without sending thousands of sheets of paper flying through the air. He was briefly pushed to the side by a tall, skinny boy who was carrying a cello case on his back. He stopped and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before rudely remarking that Hinata should watch where he's going. The redhead bowed and apologised.

The atmosphere was electric. Hinata knew he had come to the right place. 

Two students in particular caught Hinata’s attention. Something about them didn't quite fit the prestigious, upper-class feel that the school had. They were both struggling with moving what Hinata guessed was a tuba or some other equally large and awkward instrument up the flights of stairs. One of the boys was short with dark, spiky hair - Hinata thought the streak of colour he had through the front was really cool. The other was taller with nearly no hair at all. They both had a sort of mischievous look about them. Hinata knew immediately that he wanted to befriend them.

The bald guy yelled something Hinata couldn’t make out as the tuba case toppled onto its side. They had only managed to get it up two or three steps. The pair looked at it in anguish and then started again in their conquest. 

“Come on, Noya! Put some aggression into it!”

“Why am I always at the front, it’s your instrument! Besides, you’re stronger than me.”

“Bro, never underestimate your strength. I believe in you.”

“Bro..”

Hinata watched them struggle for another minute or so before he came back to reality and checked his watch. 9:05am. He was late.


	2. No one was listening to him anymore

Hinata panicked and rushed inside the building. The revolving doors brought him into a massive hall area with a reception desk at the front. The room was composed of very intricate, traditional architecture but something about the wide open spaces and high ceilings gave it a very modern feel. 

A beautiful baby grand piano sat slightly elevated on a mini stage next to the reception area. On the wall above it was written “想像を現実のものを作成します” - a Richard Wagner quote: “Imagination creates reality.” A student was sat at the piano tinkling away at one of Bach’s Inventions whilst his friends hovered over him, watching his fingers glide over the keys. 

There were even more people milling about in here. Hinata weaved his way through countless students and peered over the front desk to speak to the woman behind it. She met him with a welcoming smile.

“Hello, I’m Hinata Shouyou. This is my first day.”

“Ah, good morning. Let me see..” She pulled out a clipboard and scanned it for Hinata’s name, “Here you are. You’re a violinist, right?”

“Yes.”

“Great. If you would just sign in here and then make your way to the rehearsal hall just over there. You’ll have an introduction from the head of the department.” 

“Thank you very much!” Hinata signed the sheet with haste and hurried over into the so-called rehearsal hall. 

Once inside, he was met by dozens upon dozens of audience chairs facing a large stage. The stage contained seats set up for what appeared to be a relatively small chamber orchestra. Hinata tried to enter quietly and slip in without anyone realising he was late, but he was too busy admiring the hall to stop the door from slamming shut behind him. At least 50 heads snapped round to glare at him. Hinata felt his face burning. These were the people Hinata would be studying alongside and they probably already hated him. 

A man was standing in the conductor’s position on stage, facing the group of new students in the audience seats. He called to Hinata, “Late on your first day? What kind of place do you think this is, a sports academy?”  
A couple of students laughed.

The man scanned the sea of faces in the seats before him, “It wasn’t supposed to be a joke. Please don’t try to suck up by laughing.” He turned to Hinata again, “Take a seat. Quickly, please.”

Hinata nodded and rushed to the first available seat he could see, a couple of rows from the front. He could now get a better look at the man who had addressed him. He was younger than he seemed at first, possibly in his late twenties. His long blonde hair was tied back into a loose bun. He wore a black shirt and trousers but his ear piercings and demeanour seemed to take away from the professional air in which he spoke. 

“As I was saying, my name is Professor Keishin Ukai, that’s Ukai-sensei to you. And yes, before you ask, I am related to the famous composer and pianist Ikkei Ukai, he’s my grandfather. But that’s not important because I’m a better pianist than he ever was.”

One of the students in the front row called, “Yeah right,” and laughed obnoxiously. 

“Shut up, wise guy. Anyway, so I’m the head of the strings department here at Watashiri Music School. I’m also the conductor of our world-renowned symphony orchestra and our chamber strings orchestra as well as the mentor of many of our string quartets and quintets. You all probably think that the hard part is over now. You’ve done your audition and you got in; great. But the hard work only starts here. There will be auditions later this week that determine which ensembles you get into and what positions you play.”

Hinata froze up. He didn’t know he would have to audition again. He had no idea what he was going to play. 

“The lead and co-lead positions are not set so don’t get cocky and think you’re safe if you get picked for either of these. I only have the best players leading my sections and if that stops being you, say hello to second or third desk.” 

Hinata glanced around and was relieved to see that some of the other students were as nervous as him. He saw the boy with the cello that he had bumped into earlier sitting a few seats along from him. A boy with freckles was sat beside him. The cello boy with the glasses seemed calm but his friend was nervously tapping his fingers on his knee. 

“As you already know, theory and composition classes are compulsory as well as one-on-one lessons on your preferred instrument. It isn’t compulsory to study your second instrument but a lot of people who are considering teaching degrees at university find having at least two instruments beneficial. At the back of the hall you’ll find your class timetables as well as your dorm number and key. It’s four people to a dorm and you can’t change who you share with. I don’t care if you don’t want to share with him or you hate each other or whatever your excuse is. You’ll just have to learn to get along with your roommates. There will be a tour of the campus for all first years at 10.30 so that should give you enough time to get to your rooms and get settled in.” 

Hinata couldn’t tell if he was excited or nervous anymore. He could already feel the pressure that was on him. He mentally flicked through all the repertoire he knew that he could possibly play for his audition. A few pieces came to mind but he didn’t know if they would be good enough to get him into first or second desk. 

“That’s all I have to say. Congratulations on being accepted to our school and I look forward to working with all of you very soon.” Ukai spoke and then strolled off the stage. 

Everyone seemed to be taken aback that the presentation was so short but after a second or two, they all got up to collect their timetables. Hinata got up and reached to pick up his bag and case but felt someone grab his arm. 

“Ukai-sensei?”

“You’ve got a lot of balls turning up late here. I’ve actually kicked people out of my ensembles for being late before.” 

Hinata could feel himself shaking, “I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again. It’s just that I live very far away and I got lost and-“

Ukai smiled slightly, “It’s alright. I just need to put on the scary sensei act on the first day. A lot of the kids who start here are too cocky for their own good. It’s better to break that confidence now before they break it themselves.”

Hinata swallowed hard. Everyone at this school was so intense. 

Ukai slapped Hinata on the back, “Now, go get your timetable. Best of luck with your audition.”

“Yes, thank you,” Hinata stuttered. He practically sprinted to the back of the hall. Most of the students had already collected their timetables and left. Hinata spied his on the table and lunged at it, his eyes frantically scanning the paper. 

Hinata let out a long sigh when he saw that his first classes started at 8am meaning he would have to get up super early every morning to practice beforehand. Still, he felt like his life was finally beginning and that he was in charge of his future now. 

“Room 103..103,” Hinata muttered to himself as he paced the corridors following the directions of the nice woman at reception. The dorms were a lot quieter than the other areas of the school but Hinata could still hear the odd person practising in their rooms. 

Hinata stared at the keys, then up at the doors he passed. He did this all the way down the corridor until he collided with someone.

“Oh, sorry..” Hinata paused when he recognised who he had bumped into. 

“Watch where you’re going, you…” The person also recognised Hinata and stopped whatever insult he was planning on throwing at him.

“It’s you! What are you doing here?” Hinata demanded.

“No, what are you doing here?”

The boy who shouted back at him was someone Hinata had only met briefly about a year ago but would recognise him anywhere. He was the genius young pianist Kageyama Tobio and the person who had caused Hinata to face a crushing defeat. They had met at a regional competition that their middle schools were competing in. The judges were completely tied between the two schools, so much so that they invited both ensembles to come back on stage and present soloists. Hinata and Kageyama were presented. Hinata played with more effort than he ever had before but it still wasn’t enough. Kageyama’s school won and went on to the next round, leaving Hinata and his friends absolutely devastated. 

Hinata still remembered how Kageyama looked up from the piano after he played the final note of his solo. He just glared at Hinata in the wings from across the stage. It was as if he already knew that he had won before Hinata had even played. He seemed so at home when he was on stage by himself; the complete opposite of Hinata who was comforted by playing with his friends and people he could put his trust in. 

Hinata didn’t actually know that much about Kageyama other than what he had heard from various people. Before Kageyama went up to play his solo, Hinata’s best friend and desk partner had told Hinata that Kageyama was really unpopular at his school.

“I can see why, he’s so full of it!” Hinata had exclaimed.

“That’s part of it,” his friend told him, “But couldn’t you tell when he performed with his school’s orchestra just there?”

“Huh?” Hinata hadn’t noticed anything that was majorly off. As much as it annoyed him to admit it, Kageyama’s school were good and they played well.

“He started off the piece but he was supposed to follow the conductor’s tempo, right? Well I reckon he started playing way too fast and they struggled to keep up with him.”

“Now that you mention it, I noticed that too.”

“And I saw Kageyama fighting with two guys from his school before he went up for his solo. He said something about winning by himself.”

Hinata snapped back to reality when he heard Kageyama put the keys in one of the dorm doors and storm in. A feeling of dread coursed through Hinata as he looked up at the door number. 103. 

“This can’t be your room!” Hinata called, leaving his bag and violin case in the doorway.

Kageyama looked at the keys he still had in his hand. He then turned and stormed back over to Hinata and snatched the keys out of his hand. Hinata protested as Kageyama held the keys out in front of him and compared them. They both had the same number on them.

“We need to go get this changed,” Kageyama pushed past Hinata.

“But Ukai-sensei said-“

“I don’t care what he said. This isn’t going to work.” Kageyama charged down the hall with Hinata shuffling behind him, desperately trying to keep up with the taller boy. 

The pair rounded the corner and almost ran straight into two other boys. It was the glasses guy and freckles guy. Hinata attempted to apologise and maneuverer himself around them but the boy in the glasses blocked his way.

“Hello! So, what room are you two in?”

Hinata refused to be intimidated, “103, excuse me please.”

“Seriously? That’s funny because,” the boy with the glasses held up his key, “so are we.” 

Hinata’s face dropped. His new life really wasn't getting off to a great start.

“This is so exciting. I’ve always wanted to meet the amazing Kageyama Tobio. I’ve heard so much about you, only bad things though. I’m Tsukishima Kei, cellist.” He extended his hand to Kageyama but the shorter boy didn’t take it. “Come on, don’t be rude. We’re going to be roommates aren’t we? Let’s try to get along.” There was something really sneering and sarcastic in the way he spoke.

“Tsukki, be nice,” the other boy with the freckles spoke quietly to his friend and the turned to the other two, “I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi and I play viola. I look forward to working with you.” 

Kageyama clenched his fists at his sides and made off down the corridor again, “No, this really isn’t going to work.” 

Before Kageyama could get very far, Tsukishima had a hold on Kageyama’s shirt, “There’s nothing you can do so just calm down.” Kageyama pulled himself out of his grip and glared at Tsukishima. "Let’s just all try and be friends, okay? I mean, it’s just music anyway. There’s no need to take it so seriously.” 

“What?” Kageyama asked, his voice low and demanding.

“No need to be so serious, King.” Tsukishima sneered, crossing his arms in front of him as he titled his head to the side. 

Kageyama snapped and shoved Tsukishima against a wall, yelling at him, “Don’t call me that!” Hinata's head darted back and forth. He was glad there was no one about to see them.

Tsukishima’s eyes widening and he laughed, “Oh I'm sorry, Your Highness.” 

“We don’t need to fight,” Hinata pulled Kageyama back, his hands on his shoulders. Yamaguchi looked stressed and Hinata understood how he felt. If this was how these two acted when they had just met, what would they be like if they had to room together for the rest of the year?

Kageyama shook himself from Hinata’s grasp and turned away from Tsukishima. Hinata leaned in and tried to speak quietly to Kageyama, “Kageyama, why did he call you that? Do you know him?”

Tsukishima had obviously heard and called in response, “You don't know? He's famous. They call him King; an overpowering dictator. That’s what he is. He drove all his friends to hate him because he couldn’t learn to work as a team. He thought he was above them so they gave up on him.”

“What? When did this happen?” Hinata enquired in disbelief. 

"That competition I beat you in. It was the finals." Kageyama hung his head while he spoke, his voice thick and his eyes red.

"I remember going to watch it. He was playing piano with his school orchestra but he was playing too fast and messing around with the tempo, completely ignoring everyone, including the conductor. After that, everyone just stopped playing," Tsukishima said.

Hinata's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe it. Kageyama had beaten him but this is what he went on to become. 

"It must've been so embarrassing. He tried to keep playing but no one was listening to him anymore and the conductor asked him to get off the stage."

Hinata could see how upset Kageyama was but he couldn't understand why he wasn't trying to challenge Tsukishima. Was it because what he was saying was true? 

"Say something back to him! Come on, Kageyama!" Hinata was yelling now.

Kageyama simply pushed past them all and disappeared down the corridor. Tsukishima smirked and went the opposite way. Yamaguchi followed him after he apologised to Hinata several times.

Just as Hinata was about to walk away, he heard Tsukishima call over his shoulder, "Tell the King I want the bottom bunk."


	3. You can't lie to me

Chopin’s "Fantasie" Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op. 66, No.4. A little overrated, yes, but it was still one of his all time favourites. He breathed out a content sigh as he came off the final chord, his fingers gently brushing the keys one last time. He swung round on the piano stool and looked up expectantly.

“Soooo, Iwa-chan, how was that?” Oikawa batted his eyelashes up at the boy who was standing over him. 

“Pretty good, but I still think you’re rushing a little here,” Iwaizumi leaned over the other boy to put a pencil marking on his music. 

“Ugh, I know, I know, but I just feel like there should be an accelerando there. I want to speed up,” Oikawa complained.

“I know you want to speed up but Chopin doesn’t want you to speed up. See,” he pointed to a place on the page, “No tempo marking whatsoever.” 

“Okay, Iwa-chan, I get it. Just because you got a 1 in theory doesn’t mean you need to rub it in my face all the time!” 

“Shut up!” Iwaizumi laughed and sat down on the piano stool next to Oikawa, nudging him over a little. He let his hands rest over the keys for a second. Oikawa watched him intently.

“I think, here, I would play this fingering.” Iwaizumi played a couple bars of the left hand. “I think you were doing this…but this…works better.”

Oikawa nodded and repeated what Iwaizumi had played on the piano, “Yeah, that works better actually.” He scribbled the changes in with his pencil.

There was a silence between them for a moment but it wasn’t awkward. It could never be awkward with them; they’d spent enough time together to be able to just sit and be in each other’s company. They didn’t need to say anything to each other to know what the other was thinking.

Iwaizumi’s voice resonated in the small practice room, “Are you nervous?” His words seemed to hang in the air for a while after he had uttered them. 

“For the recital? Of course not. Have you forgotten how many recitals I've performed in?” Oikawa tried to read what Iwaizumi meant. He could always tell what he really meant if he looked hard enough but he couldn’t work it out this time. “Should I be nervous?” 

“He got in, you know.” Iwaizumi was avoiding Oikawa’s gaze.

“Did he? I’m not surprised… Well that’s good. I’m happy for him.” 

Iwaizumi looked up at Oikawa then, “No you’re not. You can't lie to me.” 

Oikawa tried to look offended at the fact that Iwaizumi didn’t believe him but he knew it was pointless to lie to him. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m just bitter.” Oikawa got up from the piano stool and collected his music. 

“Hey, do you wanna talk about this?” Iwaizumi grabbed hold of Oikawa’s arm gently. The other boy shook his head.

“Stop worrying about me all the time, Iwa-chan.” He stuffed his music back into his bag a little too forcefully. How stupid did he think Iwaizumi was? He knew Oikawa better than anyone yet here he was trying to hide something from him.

Iwaizumi watched him with concern, "Something's obviously up, let's just.."

"I'm fine, just leave it...please." 

He knew better than to get at Oikawa when he was upset so he decided just to leave it.

"Alright, I'm sorry."

Oikawa perched himself on the end of the piano stool, "Let me hear your pieces now, Iwa-chan." He smiled cooly as if nothing had happened. 

Iwaizumi sighed, "Sure." He crossed to the other side of the room and began to unpack his cello from its case. Oikawa watched him silently. 

Iwaizumi began playing the first three movements of Bach's Cello Suite No.2 in D minor. It annoyed Oikawa to no end that Iwaizumi insisted on playing without any music. Nonetheless, Oikawa loved watching Iwaizumi play. He had never come across anyone who could play cello like him. He did it so effortlessly and when he played, Oikawa didn't have to think about anything else, he could just forget about everything for a few minutes. 

Oikawa didn't even realise how intently he had been listening to Iwaizumi until he stopped and it felt like he had come crashing back to reality. 

"So...how was that?" Iwaizumi asked.

It took Oikawa a few seconds to reply, "Amazing, as usual."

Iwaizumi tried his best to hide a smile, "Yeah, but what was wrong with it? I feel like I really messed up the last movement." 

"No, it was perfect. Don't change a thing."

"You're no help at all!" Iwaizumi joked, plucking away aimlessly on his cello.

"Well, soooorry but I don't play cello, in case you've forgotten." Oikawa had eased up a little. Joking around with Iwaizumi was the only thing that came easily to him these days. 

Iwaizumi laughed a little under his breath, "To be honest, I'm a little nervous about this recital."

"Seriously? Why?"

Iwaizumi shrugged. He continued subconsciously plucking arpeggios. "I don't know. I always get nervous when I play, even when I play in front of you." 

Oikawa was completely baffled. Iwaizumi was always the more calm of the two of them and he had never been the type to get nervous over something like a little recital. 

"You're kidding, right? Why would you be nervous playing in front of me?" 

He shrugged again, "I mean, it's not like I do it on purpose but I'm always told being nervous makes you play better. It's the adrenaline." 

"Hm, I guess you're right, Iwa-chan." Oikawa rose from his seat by the piano.

"When am I not?" 

"Shut up and let's go get something to eat before quartet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Oikawa's piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvm2ZsRv3C8
> 
> and this is what Iwaizumi plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNiHcxIzACs


	4. The only two people in the world

“Hi, hello, everyone,” a voice called over the group of excited first years who were eagerly awaiting their tour of the campus. The new students milled around for a second before combining in one group facing the person who was addressing them, their conversations dying out slowly. They took up the entire expanse of the hallway, making it virtually impossible for any of the older students to squeeze past on their way to class.

“I’m Ittetsu Takeda and I’m the advisor for Watashiri Music School’s string department. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you and I would like to say congratulations on being accepted to our school.”

The man who addressed them was short in stature and had a sort of anxious air about him. His hair was slightly spiked and he wore his glasses high on the bridge of his nose. Hinata thought he seemed nice and that he was someone he felt he could trust. Whilst he was speaking, Hinata had weaved his way to the front of his group of fellow first years and stood beside Kageyama, although the taller boy pretended to take no notice of him.

“I hope you have all settled in nicely in your dorms and have managed to become acquainted with your new roommates.”

Hinata looked up slowly, his head titling obviously enough that Kageyama could see him move out of the corner of his eye. Hinata quickly averted the dark haired boy’s gaze as if he had been caught accidentally staring at him. Hinata rolled forward up onto his toes and whispered as quietly as he could to Kageyama, “Are you okay?”

Kageyama stared at him in disgust. “I’m fine,” he called too loudly, resulting in the whole group snapping their heads round in his direction. Kageyama's cheeks were crimson.

Takeda raised his eyebrows, questioning, “You two alright?”

Kageyama and Hinata both nodded their heads with so much force they might've fallen off if they weren’t careful. This earned a snigger from Tsukishima who was standing a couple people behind them.

“If you ever need any help with anything, please come see me. I’m not a music teacher so I can’t really help with that side of things but if you have any other problems, I’ll be happy to hear them. Well, let’s get started with the tour then.” Takeda began walking, urging the first years to follow in his lead, “I’ll have to ask you to keep the noise to a minimum. The older students are in classes and rehearsals right now so let’s try not to disturb them.”

They continued down the hall and a symphony orchestra could be heard playing. Ukai was at the front, vigorously conducting one of the piece's faster movements. Hinata’s eyes practically popped out of his head as he watched them through the windows running down the wall of the rehearsal hall. This is what a proper orchestra sounds like, he thought.

Takeda motioned to the orchestra, “This is a second year ensemble. They have a concert for Showa Day at the end of the month, I believe.”

Hinata scanned the sea of pupils in the orchestra. No one seemed to stick out in particular until he caught a glimpse of a blonde boy sitting in the leader’s position. He seemed to be a completely different person from the one Hinata had encountered earlier. He moved two and fro with the beat of the music, only ever looking up occasionally to follow the conductor's cues.

“Kenma..”

“Huh?” Kageyama called, leaning over Hinata’s shoulder to see what he was looking at.

Hinata pointed, his finger smudging the perfectly polished glass, “The leader, I know him!”

Takeda turned round and shushed him. Hinata uttered an apology, bowing and colliding with a boy in front of him.

Takeda sighed although he still appeared cheerful, continuing with the tour. “As most of you will already know, Watashiri Music School was established in 1856 and originally served as a small school for private tuition on the piano..”

Hinata didn’t remember at which point he started blocking out Takeda’s commentary. He looked up at Kageyama who was walking just in front of him and saw he still had a scowl on his face. Why wasn’t Kageyama happy that he was here? Hinata thought he seemed ungrateful.

Hinata shook himself. He wasn’t going to let Kageyama ruin this for him as well.

The group continued into a narrower corridor and they were restricted to walking in pairs. Hinata flitted in next to Kageyama.

“Are you following me?” Kageyama demanded, his voice almost inaudible over Takeda’s ramblings about the school’s rich history and architecture.

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep trying to…stand next to me?”

Hinata pondered for a second. He didn’t really have a reason.

“I don’t know anyone else here except from you and the scary glasses guy. I guess there's Yamaguchi who's nice but he's always with him.”

Kageyama sighed, “You know that violinist.”

“But he’s in a rehearsal right now,” Hinata whined.

Kageyama looked at a loss, “That’s not what I meant, but..”

Hinata’s face brightening up as if in sudden realisation, “I met him and his friend this morning, they were really nice! Well his friend, Kuroo, was really nice and Kenma was kinda rude but he was still nice!”

“We’re gonna get in trouble again if you keep mumbling away like that.”

Hinata looked visibly offended. He folded his arms across his chest. “So, Kageyama, who do _you_ know at this school?” Hinata seemed determined to make it into a competition.

Kageyama felt his throat constrict. He stumbled slightly.

He cleared his throat before speaking, “I-um, I know… two people.”

Hinata, completely oblivious to the other boy’s discomfort, pressed the question, “Ohhh, who?”

The pair came crashing back to reality and found themselves falling headfirst into the backs of the two people in front of them. The group had stopped walking as Takeda stood in front of a door at the end of the hall.

“I think you will be in for a little treat here,” Takeda’s hand hovered over the door handle. Everyone waited with baited breath. “Behind this door is our school’s best string quartet. They’re in the middle of a rehearsal right now but I’m sure we can go in and have a listen,” Takeda called to the group and pushed open the door. Beautiful music, that Hinata managed to identify as Beethoven, escaped from the room and flooded into the hallway. Hinata clapped his hands excitedly as everyone filed into the room.

They came into a relatively large practice room. A grand piano sat at one side of the room facing several rows of chairs. At the opposite side of the room were four chairs, the people sitting on them were in the middle of a piece, completely engrossed in the music. Two guys were sitting in the chairs by the piano, chatting away to each other and spectating the quartet. Hinata immediately recognised one of them.

Hinata gasped, “Kageyama, look! It’s Kuroo, I know him!” Hinata pointed and waved excitedly.

Kageyama took no notice of the red head. He was staring straight ahead at the quartet, his face a mix of terror and disbelief.

The four musicians came off the last chord of the third movement (scherzando vivace) of Beethoven’s string quartet in E flat major, op.127 in a spectacular fashion. They held their bows in the air for a moment before everyone in the room erupted into a round of applause. Kuroo was whooping and hollering as the other person he was sitting with clapped politely and beamed at the performers, the viola player in particular.

Takeda clapped his hands together and beamed a smile at the quartet, “That was wonderful boys! Absolutely brilliant.” He turned back to the crowd of first years. “First years, I’d like to introduce you all to our astonishing string quartet.” He motioned to the quartet, “Here on the far right we have Sugawara Koushi on viola, next to him on the left is Iwaizumi Hajime on cello, then Oikawa Tooru on second violin and their leader on first violin, Ushijima Wakatoshi.”

The quartet gave a mutual, “Thank you very much.”

Kuroo leaned back where he sat and grinned, “Are you forgetting about us, Takeda-sensei?”

Takeda jumped as if he hadn’t even noticed they were there, “Oh, how could I forget. Everyone, here are two of the most talented pianists at our school, Kuroo Tetsurou and Daichi Sawamura.” The pair waved in their direction.

“But not THE most talented, right?” Oikawa quipped, grinning smugly. Hinata saw Iwaizumi nudge the brunette playfully with his cello bow.

“You're right, Oikawa. Obviously Ukai-sensei is the best,” Ushijima said, his voice deadpan as he scribbled on his sheet music.

Kuroo burst out laughing, "Savage, Ushijima. Absolutely savage!" Ushijima looked confused, not realising he had made a joke, but smiled nonetheless.

“Now, now guys, be nice in front of the first years,” Sugawara spoke. There was a motherly air about him as he tried to keep peace between the other third years.

Everyone seemed to get on so well here. So why did Kageyama seem so on edge when he saw the quartet?

Takeda was the next to speak, “Do you boys have anything you want to say to your new underclassmen? Any advice?”

The third years exchanged a few looks. They all seemed at a loss so they turned to Kuroo who rubbed his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

“Don’t get on Ukai-sensei’s bad side,” Kuroo piped up, pulling his legs up to rest them on the chair in front of him, “He may seem chill but the guy’s crazy when he’s mad.”

Takeda looked slightly concerned, “Kuroo, I hardly think that’s true. Ukai is..”

“No, I swear!” Kuroo had the same look in his eyes as someone who was telling a particularly frightening ghost story around a campfire. The first years were completely hooked. “He made Daichi cry in his piano lesson once.”

The quartet burst out laughing at that. Daichi looked both shocked and offended, his cheeks reddening slightly. He gave Kuroo a hard jab to his abdomen, “You have a death wish, Kuroo Tetsurou.”

Kuroo laughed breezily and then whispered something in Daichi's ear, earning him a second, even harder jab.

Hinata couldn’t help but smile. When he arrived at the school, he had expected everyone to hate each other and be super competitive but they all seemed to genuinely get on with each other.

“I think I’ll give you boys a chance to get acquainted with your new underclassmen,” Takeda beamed at the quartet once more and took a seat as he watched the group of newbies disband and spread out across the room, anxious to become acquainted with the amazing musicians. 

Hinata looked around and noticed that he had lost sight of Kageyama. The red head scanned the room but couldn’t find the pianist anywhere. He snaked his way to the back of the room and found Kageyama conveniently placed behind a particularly tall boy.

“Kageyama, what are you doing?”

The taller boy cried out in shock, “I-um..”

“Were you hiding?” Hinata half giggled. A dangerous scowl appeared on Kageyama’s face.

“No, of course not, you dumbass. I was just..”

Kageyama was interrupted all of a sudden by a boy running up to him and grabbing his shoulders.

“Tobio-chan!”

Kageyama seized up and tried to wriggle free from his grasp. His wide eyes gave off the feeling that he was frightened.

“It’s been so long! How’ve you been?”

Hinata stared up at Oikawa and then to the slightly shorter boy behind him; Iwaizumi.

“Oikawa-san..” Kageyama trailed off, not really knowing what to say to him.

“Well done on getting accepted,” Iwaizumi said. He spoke genuinely and gave Kageyama a reassuring smile.

Oikawa spoke a lot less genuinely than Iwaizumi, still gripping Kageyama’s arms, a smarmy smile painting his face, “I know, congratulations! I can’t believe you got in.”

“It’s good to see you again, Iwaizumi-san,” Kageyama spoke over Oikawa’s shoulder.

Hinata noted how differently Kageyama spoke to them compared with how he spoke to him, even with how he spoke to Tsukishima. It was as if all his confidence had dissipated.

Oikawa gasped in offence, “You’re not happy to see me?”

Kageyama shook from his grasp and straightened his shirt, “I didn’t know you played violin.”

Oikawa ran his fingers through his hair and spoke nonchalantly, “Well, there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Tobio-chan.”

Kageyama clenched his fists and even Hinata could tell he was trying not to get mad.

The room was bustling with people but to Kageyama it felt like he and Oikawa were the only two people in the world. It reminded him of the days he had tried so hard to forget.

“Um,” Hinata spoke and the two third years looked down at him as if they had only just noticed his presence, “Your quartet is amazing. You played very well.”

Oikawa smiled from ear to ear, “Thank you very much. So what do you play?”

Hinata could hear the patronising tone in his voice. He knew that no matter what he said, Oikawa would be looking down on him.

Hinata puffed out his chest slightly and spoke with feigned confidence, “Violin.”

“Ah, great. Just what we need; more violinists.” Sarcasm oozed off every syllable. And Hinata thought _Tsukishima_ was sardonic.

Iwaizumi had his hand on Oikawa’s shoulder like a warning, “Oikawa..”

Waving his hands in an apology, Oikawa said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be encouraging my new underclassmen. Although…” he turned to Kageyama again, “ _You’re_ not new.”

“We’d better go now,” Iwaizumi turned to walk away, tugging at Oikawa's shoulder, “It was nice to see you again.”

Kageyama bowed his head slightly to Iwaizumi but met Oikawa’s eyes with a harsh glare.

Oikawa giggled and turned, winking over his shoulder at Kageyama, “Bye bye, Tobio-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an FYI about Kenma. He's the "leader" of the second year orchestra. That means that he sits in the front desk of the first violin section so he is the leader of the entire orchestra. During performances he will come on stage separately after being announced by name, like the conductor. So, basically, he's pretty good; pretty much the best violinist in his year. 
> 
> This is the piece the quartet play during their rehearsal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ5vl1npFA4  
> They would've been playing the last minute or so when the first years came in to listen to them. Just so you can imagine it a bit better, Ushijima would be the first guy on the left, Oikawa would be the woman next to him, Iwaizumi would be the cellist and Suga would be the first guy on the right (just in case I didn't make it that clear beforehand).


	5. He was proud of him too

"Alright!" Takeda clapped his hands together over the hum of conversation that filled the room, "We'd better let the quartet get back to their rehearsal!" He scurried over to the door and held it open for the first years to file outside back into the corridor, giving a quick nod to the third years as he left. 

"Ah, kids," Kuroo sighed happily, plonking himself down on his seat by the piano. The quartet got back into their positions and continued with their rehearsal. They played one of the sections of their piece, stopping every so often to correct their mistakes or discuss something in the piece. 

"I still don't get how you're so popular with the first years," Daichi spoke, returning to his seat next to Kuroo. Kuroo pretended to take offence, giving Daichi a light shove. "I mean, you seemed to get on really well with that guy with the glasses." Daichi's mouth was upturned at the corners and he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Kuroo cried out in shock, "I have no idea what you are insinuating, young man!" 

"I'm a month younger than you. You can't 'young man' me." 

"Alright, Dad," Kuroo brought out his phone, his eyebrows knitting together slightly but a smirk still painted on his face. 

Daichi noticed Kuroo tapping away on his phone out of the corner of his eyes and queried, "Is Kenma out of rehearsal yet?"

Kuroo's eyes flitted up for a second, realising that Daichi obviously thought Kuroo had been texting.

Daichi sighed when he realised what he was actually doing on his phone, "You're ridiculous."

"Stop judging me!"

"You're never going to beat me, you might as well just give up now." Daichi went to grab Kuroo's phone but the taller boy almost _hissed_  and pulled away from him.  

"How can I call myself a pianist when I can't even get past level 10 on Piano Tiles?!" Kuroo cried out.

Daichi laughed, trying to comfort Kuroo by stroking his back, "It's alright, it's nothing to be ashamed of." 

"Don't you pity me. This isn't about Piano Tiles anymore, this is about my pride!" Kuroo sulked and went to sit on one of the chairs a few rows behind Daichi. He tapped away furiously on his phone and nearly threw it across the room at one point, letting out a cry of anguish and curses. 

Daichi laughed softly at his friend and then turned his attention back to the quartet. They had stopped playing again and Oikawa and Ushijima were bickering. 

"No, no, no! Look,  _I_  come in first. I play," Oikawa pointed at his sheet music, the frustration clear in his voice, "a crotchet tied to a quaver, then there's a semi-quaver rest and _then_ you come in." 

Ushijima was eyeing his music with confusion, "I don't have any semi-quaver rests. It's in unison."

Oikawa sighed dramatically, "No, it's not in fucking unison." He got up from his music stand, muttering angrily to himself, and scribbled on Ushijima's music, leaning a little too hard on his pencil. Iwaizumi and Suga sniggered behind him. They spent most of their quartet rehearsals trying to stop Oikawa stabbing Ushijima in the throat with his bow but sometimes they liked to sit back and watch how riled up Oikawa would get over the slightest things Ushijima did.

Once Oikawa returned to his seat, a look of realisation came upon Ushijima's face, "Oh, you were talking about bar 194. I thought you were talking about bar 184. You're right, I do have a semi-quaver rest there. I'll make sure to watch out for it next time. Thank you."

Oikawa stared at him in utter disbelief, a look of defeat on his face, "You're so dumb that you're actually smart." Ushijima was paying him no notice as he noodled away at a section of the piece on his violin.

"Anyway," Iwaizumi clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention, "I was thinking ramen tonight, my treat."

Everyone made mixed noises of agreement; there were a few gasps, and a shriek from Kuroo. 

"What's the occasion?" Daichi asked.

"Nothing in particular. I'm just feeling generous," Iwaizumi began rosining his bow, slowly dragging the rounded block from the tip of his bow to the frog. 

"Can I invite Bokuto?" Kuroo called from the back of the room, no longer sulking over his crushing defeat to Daichi on Piano Tiles after he heard there was free food on offer. 

"Of course. Invite Kenma and Akaashi too." 

Kuroo nodded and saluted to Iwaizumi, starting to text his friends. 

Oikawa was the one sulking now, his arms folded defensively over his violin, legs crossed and his bow swinging between his fingers, "Does dickwad over here have to come?" He swung his bow up to motion towards Ushijima. 

Iwaizumi looked around at everyone, pausing a second for consideration, "Well...Oikawa's un-invited." 

All of them were laughing except Oikawa who was even more pissed than before.

“I hate you, Iwa-chan. Go die." He tried to get up from his seat and storm off but Iwaizumi grabbed hold of his arm before he could get anywhere. Oikawa caught his eye for a moment, feeling the way Iwaizumi's strong arms gripped his, but looked away quickly, a blush ghosting on his cheeks.

Iwaizumi was still laughing as he spoke but his eyes were kind when they were on Oikawa, "I'm just kidding. We still need to rehearse, come on." 

Oikawa gulped, realising he was staring. He scrunched his face up but returned to his seat. 

A few seconds later, Daichi was looking up from his phone and uttering an apology, "Sorry, I can't do tonight actually," he turned to Suga, "Asahi and Noya are wanting the four of us to go see a movie together tonight." 

“Oh, really?” Suga asked. He took out his phone from his pocket, cleverly concealing it from Iwaizumi’s view. He read the message on it and nodded, his hand coming up to his face to conceal a blush. He looked at Daichi, his eyebrows raised, “Tonight?”

“Mhm,” Daichi replied a little timidly, his cheeks also reddening slightly.

Kuroo ran up behind Daichi, "Cancel it!"

Daichi eyed him from where he sat, "Why?"

"Free ramen, dude. _Free ramen_."

Daichi looked at Iwaizumi now, almost stuttering over his words, "I'd love to go but it's really hard to…to see them these days since the wind department's schedules are so different from ours. You guys should still go, though."

Iwaizumi eyed him questioningly for a second but then spoke kindly, ”Yeah, I understand. You should go see them." He placed the rosin on his music stand. 

"You suck," Kuroo pushed Daichi's head to one side but sat back down next to him. 

"I know, I know." He let Kuroo snuggle into his shoulder and watched him open the Piano Tiles app again.

If anyone had been looking at that moment they would’ve noticed the prolonged gaze Daichi and Suga shared over Suga’s music stand. Luckily, they were all too engrossed in other things to notice the way the two boys looked at each other, their eyes just locking a little too long for it to be considered accidental.

Daichi was snapped out of it by Kuroo calling beneath him, “Bokuto and Akaashi are down but I’m guessing Kenma is still in a rehearsal.”

“Great, where should we go?” Iwaizumi turned to the group.

“There’s a ramen place a few streets down which I hear is excellent,” Ushijima said.

Iwaizumi nodded, “Sounds good.” He tried to catch Oikawa’s eye but the boy was staring off into space. Iwaizumi couldn’t help feel concerned about him even though he knew Oikawa hated when he did. He knew exactly what was bugging him but they couldn’t talk about it here.

“So, is there anything else you guys want to go over or can we call it quits for today?” Iwaizumi was dying for the rehearsal to end for the first time in his life. He always enjoyed quartet rehearsals but right now he just needed to know what was going on with Oikawa and why he had _stared_ at him like that before.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Suga looked to the other members of the quartet. They all shook their heads so they began to gather up their music and pack away their instruments.

Before anyone had fully packed their stuff away, Kuroo had already sprung up and was at the piano, tinkling at Schubert’s Impromptu op.90 no.2 in E flat major while Daichi hung over his shoulder.

Kuroo was the kind of person who made playing the piano look fun and every audience that had seen him play could tell that he really enjoyed it. He could take even the most boring or difficult piece and make it exciting to watch. He applied his care-free, laid-back attitude to everything he did and playing the piano was no exception.

Kuroo looked up over the top of the piano and caught Oikawa watching him. Kuroo winked and laughed as he saw Oikawa frown and turn around immediately.

“Enjoying the view?” Kuroo teased, speaking over his own playing, which he then proceeded to mess up. “Aw, shit. I can never get that bit right.” He went back and played the section again, smiling to himself when he got it on the second attempt and the piece repeated the main theme again.

Ushijima said his goodbyes and left swiftly like he always did. Suga swung his viola case over his shoulder and waited by the door, “You guys coming?” He asked Daichi and Kuroo, obviously sensing that there was something Iwaizumi and Oikawa needed some privacy for.

“Two seconds,” Kuroo said over his shoulder before playing the final lines of the piece, cracking his knuckles and sighing contently once he had finished.

Daichi laughed, urging Kuroo off of the piano stool, “That piece isn’t even that hard, you show off!”

“Fuck you! Schubert’s hard for a guy with big hands like me.” Kuroo and Daichi followed after Suga as Kuroo went on to make a reference to something crude about guys with big hands.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi were alone now. Silence hung in the air for a little longer than they both felt was necessary.

Iwaizumi let out a sigh that he didn’t even know he had been holding in, “Alright, Tooru. Talk to me.”

“Huh?” Oikawa always felt a little flutter of nervousness in his chest when Iwaizumi used his first name. He looked up from inside his violin case. He had long since put his instrument away but he had found himself looking at the picture of him and Iwaizumi he kept on the inside of his case. It was a photograph taken after their first ever win at a competition back in middle school. Iwaizumi held his cello in one hand and had the other arm around Oikawa’s shoulder. The pair beamed at Oikawa’s mother’s camera. They had performed a piano and cello duet and it was the first time Iwaizumi had told Oikawa he was proud of him. Oikawa hoped Iwaizumi knew he was proud of him too.

“You’re being even more annoying than usual today.”

Oikawa half-laughed, “Thanks, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi strode across the room and sat on the piano stool, patting the space next to him, urging Oikawa to join him. Oikawa rolled his eyes and squeezed in beside him.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about.”

Oikawa was looking at his feet, “Who are you, my mom?”

There was something serious in Iwaizumi’s eyes, “Oikawa, I’m your friend.”

That word always cut Oikawa deeper than any insult Iwaizumi had ever thrown at him.

Oikawa sighed, holding onto the piano stool with his hands beside his legs, head thrown back, and laughed, “It’s weird. I always knew he was gonna get in, basically from the first time I heard him play but it still…I don’t know. Geniuses just really piss me off.”

Oikawa’s voice was starting to sound the way it always did before he snapped. Iwaizumi couldn’t count the times he’d been there for Oikawa when he was crying into his pillow or throwing things around his room because a recital had gone to shit or when his wrist got really bad. Iwaizumi couldn’t resent him for it, not that he had ever wanted to, because Oikawa was always there for him after his crappy performances or when exams didn’t go to plan and Iwaizumi just needed to be _with_ someone.

Iwaizumi decided to change the subject slightly, cursing himself for getting caught up in his own thoughts. “Ushijima isn’t a genius. He’s had to work hard like you.”

“Yeah, but he’s just an asshole.”

Oikawa’s hatred of Ushijima was something that Iwaizumi had never understood. He knew why he hated Kageyama, why he was _afraid_ of him, but he just couldn’t see why he had this inferiority complex when it came to Ushijima.

“I think you should just try being nicer to him.”

Oikawa screwed his face up in disgust, “No, no way.”

Iwaizumi sighed even though he had expected that kind of reaction, “Thought it was worth a try.”

Another silence. Oikawa ran his fingers through his hair - a habit of his that Iwaizumi hated for more reason than one - and Iwaizumi cleared his throat.

“Can you promise me you’ll try and not get too caught up with him again?” Their eyes met properly for the first time in the entire conversation.

Oikawa took a second to ponder the question that he felt had come out of nowhere. He was fidgeting a lot now and Iwaizumi could tell. The shorter boy spent a few seconds watching Oikawa’s hands shake before he reached forward and took hold of them.

Oikawa jumped, turning to face Iwaizumi in surprise.

Iwaizumi’s hands were so warm.

“Just promise me that?” Iwaizumi just realised how close their faces were but he didn’t pull away. He knew he had done it to test something out but, for some reason, he didn’t want to let go of Oikawa’s hand.

Oikawa’s face was bright crimson at this point. For the first time in his life he was speechless. “I-Iwa-chan…”

Iwaizumi’s face softened and he felt he really had to ease the tension a little as he was painfully aware that his heart was beating a little too loudly in his chest, “I can see how out of it you are right now and it’s stressing me out. I want you to just focus on you for a while, okay?”

Oikawa looked away. He felt so bad for making Iwaizumi worry about him so much. He was suddenly aware of how quiet the room was with just the two of them in it.

“I’m sorry, you’re right.” He was shaking his head, his hands still slightly jittery as they linked in with Iwaizumi’s. “I’m being stupid, I know, but so are you for worrying about me constantly, stupid Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi laughed and he watched the corners of Oikawa’s eyes crinkle up as he did the same.

They sat and talked together until they lost track of time, neither of the two ever pulling their hands apart. Oikawa traced circles on the palms of Iwaizumi’s hands, staring intently as if he was attempting a tricky maths problem.

Iwaizumi didn’t know why but he couldn’t stop smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosin, which Iwaizumi uses on his bow, is this stuff you use to make sure your bow doesn't stick and that you can move it across the string properly. It comes in little blocks and I have no idea what it's actually made of but I use it all the time. The tip of the bow is the very top and the frog is the bottom where you hold the bow. 
> 
> Oikawa and Ushijima were disputing about where Ushijima was to come in in the music, i.e where he starts playing. A rest is part in the music where you don't play and they were arguing about it because Ushijima had obviously come in before he was supposed to.
> 
> This is the piece Kuroo plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsyLfN2lTj8


	6. The view from the top

The tour of the campus had just come to an end and Hinata was as excited as ever. He had seen the school’s rehearsal and concert halls, recording studios, cafés - they even had a fully-fledged gymnasium with an olympic sized pool. Hinata had to be shushed by at least four or five pupils during the duration of the tour. Quiet and Hinata were two things that just don’t mix.

Hinata didn’t have enough time to freak out to himself because he had theory and composition class to go to. He lost Kageyama at some point during the tour and hadn’t been able to find him again so he decided that he would just see him in class. He hurried along the corridor, map of the campus in one hand, timetable in the other.

Hinata was still confused about what happened earlier. He had managed to figure out that the two people Kageyama was talking about before were Oikawa and Iwaizumi - the two people he already knew at this school. Hinata didn’t know exactly how they knew each other but he assumed they went to the same middle school. Maybe they were friends?

Hinata shook his head, as if in conversation with himself. No way, they weren’t friends. Iwaizumi seemed nice but Hinata really didn’t like Oikawa and it was clear that Kageyama didn’t either.

Hinata had always hated people looking down on him but he knew that he just had to prove them wrong with his music. He would prove everyone wrong.

He was getting excited now. One of the best things about this school was that everyone was so _good_ , so talented. Hinata loved nothing more than having a strong opponent to go against.

Beating them would be like climbing a giant wall and being able to peer over and see the view from the top. Hinata knew he couldn’t climb the wall like everyone else here; he didn’t have the experience or training, but he knew what he could do. He could jump. He would be just as good or even better than everyone else because he was willing to work hard and put everything into his music.

Hinata arrived at class and, although he wasn’t late for once, there were a few students there already. The classroom wasn’t what he had expected or what he was used to. A chalkboard took up the wall at the front of the class, whereas the other walls were filled with bright posters; musical period timelines and scale diagrams. There was an old upright piano at the front of the class next to the teacher’s desk. Odds bits of sheet music were strewn across is. The chairs weren’t arranged in single desks facing the front like in normal classrooms, but instead were set in groups of four like in some Western movies Hinata had seen. The back wall of the classroom was taken up by a row of computers.

Hinata’s eyes darted around the room as he took in his surroundings. “So cool..”

His ramblings to himself were interrupted by Kageyama pushing past him to get through the doorway.

“Kageyama, let’s sit together!”

The other boy didn’t even give a verbal reply, just a sort of sigh. He was done fighting with Hinata and had now realised that it was easier just to agree with him.

The pair sat together at one of the desks near the front. Hinata glanced at the other two chairs at their table, “I wonder who’s going to sit with us.” He looked over at Kageyama but wasn’t acknowledged by him at all. Kageyama was too busy drumming out a piece, imagining the wooden surface of the table was a piano.

More students filed into the class and two came over to fill the remaining seats at their table.

“These seats taken?”

Hinata and Kageyama both looked up in unison, a hopeless expression on both of their faces.

“Um..” Hinata trailed off.

“Yes, yes. They’re taken, sit somewhere else.” Kageyama sat up immediately in his chair.

“That’s a lie,” Tsukishima casually pulled out the chair and sat across from Kageyama, watching as Yamaguchi sat beside him, “It doesn’t seem that you have any other friends, so..”

“Neither do you,” Kageyama protested, his face now a scowl.

Tsukishima laughed under his breath and pulled his headphones over his ears. After a prolonged awkward silence, Yamaguchi tried to engage the other two in idle conversation but he was cut off by someone entering the class.

“Hello, everyone,” a soft, female voice called.

Everyone was caught off guard. This was an all-boys school and the only girl Hinata had seen so far was the one at the reception desk. He didn’t know girls could go here.

“Can we take our seats please?”

Hinata had never seen anyone move as fast as the boys in his class who practically sprinted to their seats, obeying this mystery female’s command.

“My name is Kiyoko Shimizu and I will be your teacher for this year. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Hinata swore he saw every jaw in the room drop at that point. She was a teacher? But she was so young.

Shimizu, who they had just learned was their theory and composition teacher, was slim and not particularly tall, her dark hair falling to her shoulders. Her grey eyes were hidden behind her glasses and she had a small mole above her chin. She was one of those effortlessly pretty girls.

Hinata then noticed a smaller girl who was almost cowering behind Shimizu. She looked even younger than the other girl. She had short, blonde hair - a section of it was tied to the side - and a frantic, nervous air to her. Shimizu looked behind her, silently urging the other girl to speak.

She was stuttering, “I-I’m Hitoka Yachi. I will be…the teacher’s assistant.” She bowed, her hands clinging to her knees, “N-nice to meet you all.”

The class let out a synchronised “Nice to meet you,” and Yachi jumped in surprise.

“Now, I know that no one here really came to this school to study theory but it is very important to understand the theory behind music as well as being able to actually play it,” Shimizu spoke and she had everyone in the room’s full attention. She didn’t seem like the typical teacher type but she seemed nice and helpful.

“First of all, I’m going to have you all sit a theory test right now so I can see what sort of level you’re all at.”

Pure terror was written on the faces of Hinata and Kageyama.

Yachi went round the class and handed everyone a test paper.

Hinata had never learned about music theory in his life. What if he failed? Would he get kicked out of the school and sent back home? He couldn’t go back now. He couldn’t face all his friends if..

Hinata’s miniature mental breakdown was interrupted by Yachi. She handed him a test paper and leaned down slightly to talk so only he could hear, “Don’t worry so much about it. I know I would be worrying but it’s fine. Your test score doesn’t mean anything.” She beamed at him but she still appeared shaky.

Hinata smiled wide back at her and thanked her as she went off to give a test paper to someone else.

Hinata could feel Kageyama’s stare searing into the back of his head. He turned and gave Kageyama a challenging glare before starting on his test.

He opened the test paper and stared at the first question blankly.

_Q1: Transpose the following melody in the alto clef down an octave into the bass clef._

He decided just to skip the first question. The next ones would be easier.

_Q2: Name the following harmonic intervals._

Maybe the next one.

_Q3: Compose an sixteen-bar melody and accompaniment using the given chord progression._

Hinata gave a small cry and laid his head down on the table. He was completely screwed. There wasn’t a single question he could even take a guess at.

Luckily, Kageyama appeared to be in the same boat. Hinata peered at Kageyama out of the corner of his eye and saw him nervously tapping his pencil on the desk, staring at the paper as if the answers were hidden on it somewhere.

Once the time was done, Hinata shamefully returned his test paper to Yachi, who then gave it to Shimizu. He had skipped the majority of the questions. The ones he did answer were done very poorly, just random guesses and things he thought sounded right. He gave up halfway through and spent half an hour on an elaborate doodle of a treble clef down the side of his page.

“I’ll have your tests marked for tomorrow. That’s all for today, thank you.”

Kageyama and Hinata left class together rethinking their life choices as they made a sullen descent back to their room to get ready for lunch. It didn’t help that Tsukishima was behind them banging on about how easy he thought the test was.

“I don’t understand why they make theory classes compulsory anyway,” Kageyama sulked. He was drinking a carton of what Hinata guessed was milk with his free hand shoved deep in his pocket.

“I like Shimizu-sensei, though. And Yachi is really nice!” Hinata was hopping along the hallway, the disastrous test obviously having no effect on his mood.

“Yeah, they’re nice but I don’t see why we should have to learn theory.”

Hinata looked up at Kageyama with a confused look. “I thought you would be good at theory.”

Kageyama returned the look but had to turn away because he felt his cheeks heating up a little at the compliment. Why was Hinata of all people saying this to him?

“No, but I’m better than you for sure, dumbass.”

Hinata laughed, “Well, obviously. I’ve never had a teacher before so I’ve never had to learn theory. I just play.” Hinata ran in front of Kageyama a bit and stopped, pointing his finger out in Kageyama’s direction, “I don’t need to be good at theory to be a better musician than you.”

Kageyama was shocked, so shocked that he almost dropped his milk. He didn't know if Hinata was kidding or if he was stupid enough to be serious.

“I don’t think you’ll ever be a better musician than me.” Kageyama stared him down and Hinata lowered his finger slowly. “I beat you before. Remember?”

“I’m a different person now!” Hinata protested, getting all up in Kageyama’s face.

“So am I. I beat you then and I can beat you twice as hard now.”

A smile spread across Hinata’s face, “We’ll see about that,” and he took off down the hall, not quite knowing where he was running to.

Kageyama called after him and chased the smaller boy down the hall. They rounded a corner and nearly collided head on with a group of three third years.

“Sorry!” The two first years shouted and bowed, completely breathless.

“Hey! It’s the little violinist!” Hinata immediately recognised Kuroo’s voice and straightened up.

“Kuroo!”

“I didn’t get to see you earlier at the quartet rehearsal.”

“We were talking to someone else, sorry about that.”

Kuroo was all smiles and nonchalance, “No big deal. You were talking to Oikawa, right?”

Hinata’s eyes widened at the question. He turned to Kageyama who’s face had turned pale. Seeing that Kageyama wasn’t going to speak up, Hinata nodded.

“It’s shit that he was the first person you had to properly meet here. I know he doesn’t seem like it but he’s a good guy, he works hard.”

Hinata gripped his bag strap a little tighter.

Daichi was the one to break the somewhat awkward silence, “I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Daichi Sawamura and this is Sugawara Koushi.” Daichi and Suga both shook the first years’ hands.

“Just call me Suga,” he smiled at the two of them.

Hinata was relieved they had moved from talking about Oikawa. He saw Kageyama ease up a little.

“What do you guys play?” Suga asked.

“Violin.”

“Piano.”

“Ohh, I could definitely see you playing a duet, right?” Suga turned to Kuroo and Daichi who agreed enthusiastically.

“Oh yeah, totally,” Kuroo said.

Hinata and Kageyama looked at each other and then back at the other three.

“No.”

“No way.”

“What, why?” Kuroo seemed genuinely offended but then he smirked, stepping over to put his arm around Kageyama’s shoulder, “Let me guess. You’re more of the soloist type. A high maintenance diva who won’t share the stage with anyone because you just crave the limelight so much. All you want is a place to _shine_ all by yourself.”

Hinata burst out laughing, “That’s him for sure!”

Kageyama’s scowl had reached a whole new level. Kuroo released him and waved his arms around apologetically, “I’m just kidding, I’m sure you’re both amazing soloists. But you do realise that you’ll probably be paired together in a duet, right?”

What? Hinata didn’t know about this.

Kageyama and Hinata both stared at each other as if they were asking the other if they had known about this.

“Yeah that’s true,” Daichi said, “You guys are roommates, aren’t you?”

They nodded.

Suga crossed his arms, “Oh yeah, you’ll definitely be paired up.” He looked to Kageyama, “You’ll have to accompany someone at some point since you’re a pianist.”

Kageyama stared at him as if this was something he had never thought about before. Hinata thought that he had probably come to this school thinking he would have a stage to himself and that would be it. How wrong he was.

“No need to look so pissed. You still get to show off a little even when you're an accompanist,” Kuroo called, patting Kageyama on the back, “You guys should come have lunch with us then maybe we can hear you play?”

Hinata’s face lit up as he followed Kuroo’s lead. Finally, he would get to show everyone what he could do.


	7. He hoped his music would reach them

The newly-formed group of five bought their lunch in the bustling lunch hall before making a quick escape, striding hastily down the corridors. Although the lunch hall was massive and had all the amenities Hinata had expected and more, every department shared a lunch break so it got pretty crowded. Hinata thought he was going to die in the queue at one point as Kuroo almost killed a second year over the last bento box.

Hinata spoke in-between chowing down on some onigiri, “Why aren’t we eating in there with everyone else?” He caught a disgusted look from Kageyama and Hinata quickly rid himself of the food on his face.

Hinata adjusted the violin case on his back. They had stopped on the way to lunch to collect it and he was as antsy as ever.

Daichi turned to the first years who were tagging along behind them, “We don’t usually eat in the lunch hall.”

Kageyama and Hinata both gave a simultaneous, “Ohh,” even though they weren’t any clearer on where they were going.

“Where do you eat then?” Hinata asked.

Kuroo smirked, “You’ll see.”

The third years led them back into the hall where all the practice rooms were. They reached their destination within a matter of minutes.

Kuroo pushed open the door at the end of the hall, bowing and motioning for the first years to go in, “Voilà.”

They came into a massive theatre with rows and rows of plush, velvet chairs running across to either end of the room. The chairs were all centred around a stage. A Yamaha grand piano sat proudly in centre stage. Hinata gasped a little at the way the light reflected off the smooth, black surface of the piano.

Hinata couldn’t contain his excitement and ran down past the screeds of chairs to stand on the stage, his arms widespread as he spun around in little circles. “So cool!”

“Just wait until you hear the acoustics!” Kuroo shouted down at him.

The third years made their way towards the stage and sat down together in the front row, starting on their lunches. Kageyama slowly followed, his eyes fixated on the piano.

“How are you guys allowed in here?” Hinata asked, returning briefly from his dream-like state.

“I have my ways,” Kuroo swung a set of keys around his index finger.

Hinata gasped, his voice a stage whisper, “Did you _steal_ those?!”

Kuroo seemed offended. Hinata was about to apologise but he had come to learn that Kuroo was never really serious about anything he did or said.

“Is that the kind of person you think I am? I may be a lot of things but a thief isn’t one of them.”

Daichi gave him a puzzled look, “You stole 800 yen from me the other day to buy ramen.”

“Didn’t you steal Oikawa’s hair dryer last term as well? I think you still have it,” Suga added.

“Okay, okay! That may be true but I didn’t actually steal _these_. Takeda-sensei lets us sit in here at lunches and stuff to practice…” Kuroo was interrupted by his phone ringing. An upbeat Kpop song echoed in the massive room before Kuroo answered it.

“Hello?” He paused for an answer. “Hey, hey, hey, bro… Yeah, we’re in the usual place. You coming?… Nice, see you soon.”

He turned to Daichi and Suga, “Bokuto and Akaashi will be here in a bit. Kenma should be too if he’s out of rehearsal.”

Hinata returned to guffawing at his surroundings. He went up to the piano and pressed down on one of the keys. He was completely in awe of the way that its sound seemed to reach every corner of the room. He could tell how rich the piano’s tone was from that single note.

“That’s expensive, be careful,” Suga said but it was more a friendly comment than him telling him off. Hinata immediately withdrew his fingers and stepped away from the piano even though he never looked away from it.

Kageyama was on the stage now and he charged up to Hinata, a distressed look on his face, “You don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t touch it.”

“I don’t see your name anywhere on it, stupid Kageyama!”

“Guys, don’t fight,” Daichi said. Hinata felt like he was being told off by his father for fighting with one of his siblings.

“Go on then, Mr. genius pianist. Play us something,” Kuroo had an amused look on his face. He was eating his lunch and observing the pair as if he were seeing the latest blockbuster at the movie theatre.

Kageyama looked startled but he eagerly took to the piano, adjusting the stool to his height.

“What should I play?” He turned to the third years for guidance.

“Play the hardest piece you know,” Kuroo teased. He thought Kageyama was one of those guys who’s ego were too big for their own good. He would get shut down soon enough. Guys like that never really have the skill to back up how big they talk.

Kageyama racked his brain for a second, “I know the first couple of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes.”

Suga gasped, Kuroo choked on his food and Daichi spit his out. The trio stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re not being serious.”

Kageyama nodded to Kuroo.

Kuroo smirked and crossed his arms in front of him, leaning back in his chair, “Alright. Show us then.”

Kageyama let his fingers hover above the keys for a second. He played a couple scales and arpeggios to get used to the piano and then sat still. He watched Hinata out of the corner of his eye. The red head boy took a few steps back from the piano but remained on stage in the corner of Kageyama's peripheral vision.

Kageyama took a deep breath in and out and then he was playing. He didn’t have to fight for a big sound on this piano unlike some of the pianos at his middle school. The piano was so responsive and every tiny note could be heard as it enveloped the theatre.

Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes are pretty much some of the most difficult and technically challenging pieces you can play on piano. Kageyama knew this and that’s why he liked them so much. He liked being able to show off and Liszt was the perfect composer to do just that. He had practiced the etudes so much he could now play most of them off by heart.

The other four audibly gasped as he played the first arpeggiated run. Liszt was certainly an acquired taste but everyone in the room’s jaw hit the floor watching Kageyama play. His dexterity and articulation was amazing and Hinata had no idea how his hands could move across the keys that fast.

The piece continued on and the four spectators were completely engrossed in Kageyama’s playing. It wasn’t the sound of the music he was playing that they were paying attention to - études (French for 'studies') are meant for improving the pianist’s technical abilities as opposed to being pleasant pieces for performances - but instead they were mesmerised by how effortlessly he darted around the keys, how precise each and every note was.

He played the final chord of the second etude, a slight tremor surfacing under his skin. The silence in the room was deafening.

Kageyama turned to his audience. “So, how was that?” There was a smugness to his voice. It reminded the third years of another pianist they knew.

Kuroo had been stunned to silence for the first time in his life.

“You’re a first year, right?” Suga shared his disbelief.

“Yeah.”

“That was amazing. Where'd you learn to play like that?” Daichi asked genuinely, a hint of jealously in his words.

“I've been playing since I was five... Oikawa used to teach me in middle school.”

"Ah, I see." Daichi said.

Kageyama looked expectantly to Kuroo who still hadn’t said anything.

“Well shit. You proved me wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone play Liszt like that. That was pretty awesome.” For once, there wasn’t anything smarmy or sarcastic about Kuroo’s words. He had to admit that he was genuinely impressed by Kageyama.

“Kuroo just admitted that he was wrong,” Daichi turned to his friend, “Are you alright? Do you have a fever?” He started jokingly checking Kuroo’s forehead for a temperature.

Kuroo batted him away, laughing, “Shut up! You guys make me seem like such a bad person.”

Two loud knocks came at the door and Hinata startled.

“It’s open!” Daichi’s voice boomed to whoever was behind the door.

Someone unknown to the two first years popped their head around the door, “Hey, hey, hey!”

Kuroo’s head snapped around instantly, “Hey, hey, hey! Long time, no see!”

Three boys entered the theatre. The last one to come in Hinata recognised as Kenma. The first one with strange spiky hair embraced Kuroo in a bear hug.

“You literally saw each other yesterday,” the remaining boy said with a sigh.

“Even a second without my bro Bokuto is too long,” Kuroo pretended to stifle a sob. They embraced again and everyone in the room bar Kageyama and Hinata rolled their eyes.

“First years, let me introduce you to the second coolest person at this school, after me of course. Bokuto Koutarou.”

“I am shocked and offended,” Daichi joked. Kuroo laughed and shushed him.

“You already know my dear friend Kenma Kozume,” he motioned to Kenma who had taken a seat in the same row as Daichi and Suga. He looked up from his game console and nodded shyly to Hinata and Kageyama.

“And this is Akaashi Keiji, Bokuto’s handler.”

“I’m not his- "

“-He plays flute and Bokuto plays trumpet.”

Akaashi and Bokuto both gave them a, “Nice to meet you,” and Kageyama and Hinata returned their greetings.

The audience, which had now grown from three people to six, took their seats in the front row.

“Now Kageyama is done showing off, how about you play us something Hinata?” Daichi suggested.

Hinata nodded frantically and went to unpack his violin. Kageyama stalked off the stage but Hinata caught his arm before he could walk past him.

“Kageyama! That was so cool!” His eyes lit up as he looked up at Kageyama.

“T-thanks,” Kageyama replied so quietly that it was almost inaudible.

Kageyama was thankful for the fact that the stage lights hid the little smile on his face as he made his way to the front row with everyone else. It was nice to be complimented every once in a while, he thought.

Hinata had his violin out and began tuning it. He played his A string and gasped, looking around as the sound travelled in all directions, “It’s so…bouncy!”

“Told you! The acoustics in here are awesome,” Kuroo called to him from the audience chairs.

Hinata paced around a little on the stage, deciding where he was going to stand. He settled on a little space in centre stage just in front of the piano.

“What are you going to play, Hinata?” Suga asked whilst trying to break up an aggressive game of rock, paper, scissors which had started between Bokuto and Kuroo.

“It’s not as flashy or as difficult as what Kageyama played but…it’s my favourite piece; Massenet’s Meditation from Thaïs.”

A mutual, “Oooh,” rose from the audience.

“That’s a lovely piece, it’s one of my favourites too,” Suga beamed at him and Hinata returned a hearty smile.

Hinata shook his whole body and looked up to the ceiling. He took note of the weight of his violin on his shoulder and it made him feel at ease.

He had to admit that he was feeling a little nervous now. He had to compete with Kageyama and play in front of all these super talented people that he had just met. Despite his nerves, Hinata loved the rush of playing for an audience, no matter how big or small. He hoped his music would reach them.

As soon as Hinata raised his bow to place it just above the string, a few inches from the fingerboard, his expression changed. He had been cheerful and enthusiastic the whole day but now he was completely serious, his brows furrowing as he played the first note.

The other students in the audience had been murmuring quietly amongst themselves but as soon as they heard Hinata play that first note, they fell completely silent.

There was no sense of hesitation in the way Hinata played and he gave every single note his complete care and attention, treating every note, every beat, as if it was the last one he would ever play.

Hinata could’ve chosen far more difficult pieces to show off with but he chose Meditation for a reason. He gave the piece so much passion that it was no longer Jules Massenet’s piece. The music belonged to Hinata and him alone.

Of course, Hinata wasn’t perfect. He had never had a teacher before and he lacked experience so he still had a long way to go. Sure, his vibrato could’ve been slower at some points and maybe a few of the shifts into positions were a little sloppy but everyone in the audience agreed that the sheer passion and dedication Hinata was able to portray in a piece that lasted just five minutes completely disregarded all of that.

The piece reached the climax point; Hinata was becoming more animated. Kuroo was sitting so far forward in his seat he was practically on the floor, Bokuto was just staring with his jaw wide open and Kageyama had to clench his hands into fists to conceal how they shook.

Hinata played the final note, a delicate harmonic. He let the note fade out until he ran out of bow, the sound of his violin reduced almost to a whisper by the end. He finished playing and waited a moment, his heartbeat thumping in his ears, before moving his violin off his shoulder.

Everyone was completely still and Hinata almost panicked before they all erupted into rattling applause and cheers, everyone except Kageyama giving him a standing ovation. Bokuto wolf-whistled and Kuroo was whooping and hollering.

Hinata beamed the biggest smile of his life and bowed several times.

Bokuto and Kuroo ran up onto the stage.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were that good?” Kuroo gave Hinata’s shoulder a shake.

“That was so cool! Can you teach me violin?” Bokuto gushed.

“Only if you teach me how to play trumpet!”

“Deal!”

The pair shook hands, coming to a mutual agreement. The rest of the spectators ventured up onto stage whilst Kageyama remained in his seat, his hands buried deep into his pockets.

Daichi was almost gushing now two, “Wow, Hinata. You two are absolutely amazing.”

“We have such talented new first years,” Suga agreed.

“That was a very nice performance. Kuroo was telling me that you’ve never had a teacher, is that true?” Akaashi asked.

“Yes, that’s true.”

Even Akaashi looked shocked, “Well congratulations, I can tell you’ve worked very hard.” Akaashi smiled and, even though he didn’t seem like the kind of person who smiled very often, Hinata felt like it was a very kind, genuine smile.

“Thank you very much!”

Kenma was the next to speak to Hinata, “Well done, that was really impressive.” He kept a little distance away from Hinata but he was assertive when he spoke to him.

“Thank you, Kenma. That means a lot coming from a talented violinist like you.”

Kenma glared at him in confusion, “How do you..”

“I saw you leading that orchestra. You sounded great!” Hinata wanted to impress Kenma and he didn’t quite know why but he wanted to be friends with him.

“Oh,” Kenma blushed a little and looked down, “Thank you.”

It was at that point they were interrupted by the bell ringing to signal the end of lunch.

“Well us senpais have got to go to rehearsals now. We’ll see you later, virtuosos,” Kuroo told Hinata before they all began to pack their stuff away.

Hinata agreed as he returned his violin to its case. He waved and thanked them all on their way out of the theatre.

Now it was just him and Kageyama.

Kageyama was fumbling around with stuff in his bag, his back turned to Hinata.

Hinata was now painfully aware that Kageyama was the only one who hadn’t said anything about his playing.

“So, Kageyama. What did you think?” He tried really hard to make sure it didn’t come off in an arrogant way because he just genuinely wanted to know his opinion.

He didn’t get a reply. Hinata guessed that Kageyama hadn’t heard him so he came down from the stage and tapped Kageyama on the back.

“Kage-“

Kageyama swung around to face Hinata with great speed and a desperate look on his face, “Play with me, Hinata!”

“W-what?!”

“I want to accompany you.”

Hinata couldn’t comprehend the words he was saying or why he had changed so much. A little under an hour ago he had turned his nose up at the idea of playing with anyone else but now _he_ was the one suggesting a duet.

“You play like a completely different person. You’re so much better than before.”

“Well that's only because you beat me and I wanted to get better so I practiced really hard. Wait, Kageyama, are you okay? Why are you being nice to me?”

“Think how amazing we could be if we played together.”

Hinata stopped and pondered the idea. Now that he thought about it, he quite liked the idea of playing with Kageyama. They were both soloists but Hinata had a feeling they could go really far if they were to team up. And he wasn’t going to hide the fact that he was so impressed with how Kageyama could play.

“You’re right, but…”

That was the first time Hinata had seen Kageyama smile. “It’s decided then!” He pulled his bag onto his shoulder, “This doesn’t mean I like you, though.”

Hinata giggled, “Alright, whatever you say.”

“Shut up, dumbass!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama's piece is the first 2 mins 50 seconds of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sxiw53fQ2c 
> 
> Hinata's piece is this (skip to 42 seconds, there's a little interview with the violinist at the start) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sov58PtoJeA  
> I just wanna talk about this piece. ITS LIKE MY FAVOURITE VIOLIN PIECE EVER and the violinist in that video plays it so well it gave me chills the first time I watched it. Please just watch the video and imagine Hinata playing it exactly like him.


	8. The guilt of a lie

“I feel kinda bad about this.”

“Live a little, why don’t you.”

“What if we get caught?”

“We won’t.”

“But what if..”

“Shh. We’re supposed to be out, remember? We need to keep quiet for our alibi.”

“Okay, okay,” Suga whispered as he followed Daichi down the hall to his room.

The pair were walking on their toes in an attempt not to get caught doing something they probably shouldn’t be.

The guilt of a lie played on their minds a little but they tried to focus on the fact that they had waited so long for this. The timing was finally right.

No one would ever find out, anyway.

Daichi fumbled with the keys to open the door to the dorm room he shared with Kuroo, Oikawa and Bokuto. His hands were a little shaky.

“What time is it?” Suga asked, peering over Daichi’s shoulder.

Daichi brought his phone out of his pocket, “Half 6. We’ve got plenty time. Remember the last time we took them out for ramen? They’ll be gone for ages.”

Daichi pushed the door open slightly, craning his head inside to check if anyone was in. Seeing that the room was empty, he pushed the door open fully and ushered Suga inside, checking quickly in the hall that no one had seen them go in.

Before Suga even had a second to get his bearings, before he could even think, Daichi’s lips were on his, kissing him fervently.

“Mm, Daichi, wait. At least turn the lights on first,” Suga fumbled around blindly on the wall he had been pressed up against for the light switch.

“It’s fine like this,” Daichi said, coming up for air for a second before continuing his ministrations and leaving light kisses on Suga’s jaw and neck.

“But I wanna _see_ you, Daichi.”

Daichi’s breath hitched a little at that. Suga managed to squirm out of Daichi’s hold long enough to flick the lights on, despite the other boy’s protests.

And boy, was Suga glad he did. He could see how flushed Daichi’s cheeks were, the way his jaw slacked, the _look_ in his eyes.

Daichi immediately bowed his head and nuzzled into Suga’s shoulder.

Suga gasped in realisation, “Daichi, are you embarrassed?”

Daichi tried to laugh it off, “O-of course not.”

“You so are!” Suga teased. Daichi decided to silence Suga’s laughter at his expense by kissing him again, harder and with more desperation than before.

He half lifted Suga and plonked him down on the bed. This resulted in Suga making a teasing comment about how strong Daichi was as he poked away at his biceps.

For the first time all night Daichi had a serious look in his eyes as he looked down at the other boy, “Suga, are you sure about this? Because we don’t have to if you don’t want to. If you’re not ready we can wait. Are you absolutely certain?”

Suga spoke softly and breathlessly, “Yes, I am. Now stop talking.”

 

~

 

“I’m just gonna go out on a limb here and say we ate way too much.”

“No shit.”

“Oh man, I can now say I have experienced what being pregnant is like. I must’ve put on at least a stone.”

Kuroo, Bokuto and Oikawa stumbled into their room, the trio clutching their stomachs and groaning in agony.

Kuroo flopped down on his bed, “RIP Iwaizumi Hajime’s bank balance 2k16.”

Oikawa took note of the light flitting through from under the bathroom door and the sound of the shower running, “I guess Daichi’s back then.”

Bokuto ran and bounced on his bed, something that he immediately regretted as one of his arms shot to his side and the other came up to cover his mouth. “I swear I threw up a little in my mouth just now.” 

“Ewwww.”

“You’re gross,” Kuroo threw a pillow at Bokuto from his bed. Bokuto made a noise like he had just been shot at close range.

Bokuto stared up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head, “What if I, like, throw up in my trumpet? I have practice first thing tomorrow, it’s definitely possible.”

“Dude, what the actual fuck?”

“I’m going to bed now,” Oikawa announced, gauging that Bokuto was at the point where everything he said stopped making sense.

“How would that even work? Would it come out the other end?” Bokuto pondered further.

“Bro, you gotta stop,” Kuroo was laughing and covering his face with his hands.

“What? I’m just saying! That would be kinda gross.”

“Yeah, it would be.”

Oikawa had already changed and was settled in his bed, “Shut up, I’m trying to sleep.”

Kuroo took out his phone, “It’s literally 9:15pm.”

Oikawa sighed and turned to Kuroo, propping himself up on his elbows, “I know, but _some_ of us have early rehearsals tomorrow.”

Kuroo smirked, his eyebrows raised, “Oh, yeah, you have your duet rehearsals in the morning, don’t you? I see how it is.”

Oikawa rubbed his forehead with his hand, “What are you talking about?”

“You need to look nice and pretty for Iwa-chan, right?”

Bokuto gasped and nearly rolled too far and off his bed.

“I have no idea what you’re insinuating but it’s none of your business anyway,” Oikawa huffed and turned away from him again.

Bokuto was watching eagerly as he clung to a pillow, his eyes darting back and forward between Kuroo and Oikawa like he was watching a tennis match.

Kuroo sat up on the bed, his head in his hands, “Oh my god, you think you’re so fucking _sly_ , don’t you? If you wanna fuck your best friend at least be discreet about it.”

“Fuck you, Kuroo,” Oikawa mumbled. Kuroo was constantly winding him up but he really wasn’t in the mood for it right now.

“Ha, I bet you’d like that,” Kuroo teased and lay back down, “expect everyone knows you're _such_ a bottom.”

“I wish you would die.”

Daichi emerged from the bathroom freshly washed, his hair still damp. “I see you two are fighting as always. How was ramen?”

“Delicious but I think we ate the entire restaurant. How was the movie?” Bokuto asked, getting up to go use the bathroom now it was free.

“It was really good.”

Bokuto smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.

Kuroo eyed Daichi curiously, “‘Really good.’ Is that all we’re getting?”

“Huh?” Daichi questioned, towelling his hair dry.

“Well usually when you go see a movie without the rest of us you come back and give us the entire synopsis.”

“Oh,” Daichi sat on the edge of his bed, his back turned to Kuroo, “I guess this one wasn’t that good.”

“Right…” Kuroo got up and changed into sweats and a tank top. “Did Suga enjoy it?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“That’s nice. That’s really…nice,” Kuroo settled back on his bed, tapping away on his phone.

Daichi gave him a look out of the corner of his eye. He knew that if anyone would catch onto them, it would be Kuroo. Bokuto wouldn’t notice and Oikawa wouldn’t care enough to but Kuroo was sharp and he could tell with these sorts of things.

Daichi thought it best to just change the subject, “So, what are you and Kenma playing in the recital?”

“Uh, Kenma’s playing Beethoven’s Kreutzer and I’m caught between Weber’s Perpetuum Mobile and that Schubert piece.”

“You should definitely play Weber.”

Kuroo screwed his face up, “I like the piece and all, it’s just not good enough yet.”

“You’ve still got a week.”

“True.”

“Will you guys _shut_ _up_? I forgot how much I hate sharing a room. Especially with you,” Oikawa complained, the comment clearly aimed at Kuroo.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Kuroo got up to go turn the light off, kicking Oikawa’s bed as he walked past, “Sweet dreams, princess.”

Oikawa muttered something under his breath that Kuroo was partially glad he didn’t hear.

Bokuto came out of the bathroom and fumbled around in the dark, tripping more times than he could count and having to stop for a second to stop himself throwing up.

“You okay, dude?” Kuroo called from his bed, shining the light of his phone screen in his direction.

“Yeah, it’s not far now,” Bokuto continued the search for his bed and cried out triumphantly when he reached his destination. He apologised after being shushed by Daichi and Oikawa.

Kuroo held his phone up so Bokuto could see and signalled that he was going to text him. Bokuto nodded and fumbled around on the bedside cabinet for his own phone.

**catfuckr** : dude i think somethings going on with daichi and suga  
**no. 1 owl stan** : what do u mean  
**catfuckr** : justin beiber plays softly in the background  
**no. 1 owl stan** : *bieber  
**catfuckr** : close enough, anyway idk, daichi was acting weird and u know how he always makes a big deal about going to the movie theatre  
**no. 1 owl stan** : yeh  
**catfuckr** : he didn't even tell me what the movie was about  
**no. 1 owl stan** : thats weird  
**catfuckr** : ikr  
**no. 1 owl stan** : what do u thinks going on with them  
**catfuckr** : well its pretty obvs isnt it  
**no. 1 owl stan** : ??  
**catfuckr** : they fuckin  
**no. 1 owl stan** : SERIOSULY WHATY  
**catfuckr** : well idk but that would explain a lot  
**no. 1 owl stan** : MY PARENST FINALALY  
**catfuckr** : its nice and all but im kinda pissed  
**no. 1 owl stan** : y  
**catfuckr** : well they lied to us  
**no. 1 owl stan** : yeah but  
**no. 1 owl stan** : like  
**no. 1 owl stan** : its kinda for a good reason tho  
**catfuckr** : u think so ?  
**no. 1 owl stan** : well yeah theyve probs been waiting and planning for a while  
**catfuckr** : i dont think thats a good enough excuse to lie to ur friends  
**no. 1 owl stan** : tru  
**no. 1 owl stan:** idk maybe we should talk to them about it  
**catfuckr** : i dont want things to be awkward tho  
**no. 1 owl stan** : y would it be awkward  
**catfuckr** : i can think of a few reasons..  
**no. 1 owl stan** : what r they ??  
**catfuckr** : it doesnt matter  
**no. 1 owl stan** : NO PLS EXPLAIN  
**catfuckr** : GOOD NIGHT DUDE


	9. As long as I'm here, you're invincible

“Shit, where is it?” Oikawa scuttled around the room, frantically searching everywhere he could think to look. He was the only one awake but he was making no effort to keep quiet.

“I’m gonna be late!” He nearly tripped over as his favourite pyjama bottoms - the ones with the little UFOs on them - sat low on his waist and were a little too long for him.

Daichi blinked himself awake and squinted at Oikawa, “What are you looking for?”

“My hairdryer. I thought I left it here over the break.” Oikawa’s hair was damp and sat in a frenzy of messy curls.

Daichi laughed a little, “Kuroo has it.”

Oikawa sighed heavily and muttered something to himself before grabbing a pillow and proceeding to hit a sleeping Kuroo with it.

Kuroo was awake after a few blows. “What do you want?” he asked and groaned groggily.

“My hairdryer, where is it?” Oikawa held the pillow above his head like a weapon.

Rolling over away from Oikawa, Kuroo spoke, “I don’t know.”

“You took it! Daichi said you have it!”

“I don’t remember,” Kuroo reached for his phone which was charging on his night stand, “It’s 6:30, will you chill?”

“Do you know how long it takes to do my hair?”

“I’ve shared a room with you for two years, so yeah, I do. Just towel dry it, no one will care.”

Oikawa gasped, looking at Kuroo like he was holding a dead baby in front of him, “No fucking way am I doing that.”

Daichi sighed and got up to use the bathroom, “Maybe Iwaizumi has one.”

“Oh no. He can’t go see Iwa-chan looking like that!”

That comment earned Kuroo another blow from Oikawa’s pillow.

Bokuto, who everyone thought was still sound asleep, cut in, “Just go to one of the bathrooms down the hall and stick your head under the hand dryer thing. I’ve done it before.”

The other three simply stared at Bokuto, completely at a loss.

“You’ve actually done that before?” Kuroo burst into fits of laughter.

“Yeah! But with my hair, you gotta get the angle..” he sat up on his bed to demonstrate, twisting his neck and shoulders into an uncomfortable looking position, “..just right.”

“Oh my god.”

Daichi emerged from the bathroom, “I’ll text Suga and ask if he can bring one through.”

Oikawa looked a little less stressed, perching on the edge of his bed, “Thank you.”

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Oikawa got up to answer it and was greeted by Suga. He looked way too cheerful for someone who was awake at 6:30am.

“Thank you so much. You’ve just saved my life,” Oikawa humbly accepted the hairdryer.

Suga laughed, “It’s no problem.” He stepped into the room a little further to greet the others. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Mhm.”

“Morning!”

Suga smiled and lifted his arm up to run his fingers through his hair. In doing so, his pyjama shirt rode up a little. It revealed a strip of pale skin at his hips and a couple dark, still fresh bruises he had acquired the night before, either from Daichi’s fingertips or his mouth.

Daichi panicked. He noticed the marks immediately and glared at Suga. He had tried so hard not to leave any trace where it would be visible but they still had to be careful. Once Suga realised, he quickly brought his arms to his sides and blushed, earning a confused glare from Oikawa.

“So, I’ll see you all in rehearsals later!” Suga gushed and left without waiting for anyone else’s reply.

Kuroo gave Daichi an intense side eye as he watched Suga leave. His suspicions had just been confirmed. For some reason, he felt a little tinge of pain in his chest.

~

Kageyama strode through the halls, his bag swung over his shoulder and a pile of sheet music tucked under his arm. Hinata had slept in so he decided to go rehearse by himself for a bit before he showed up for duet practice.

Kageyama ran through everything he had to do in his head as he walked. He would need to practice a little for his first lesson later on with Ukai, prepare some duet stuff for him and Hinata and choose something for his orchestra audition.

He snapped back to reality as he passed a practice room and stopped dead when he heard the music coming from it.

It was Saint-Saëns’ The Swan, one of the most well known cello pieces, being played as a cello and piano duet. Kageyama recognised who was playing instantly, before he even looked through the glass on the door of the practice room. He remembered how they played. They had played the exact same piece in a compeition in middle school. Of course, they won.

He would recognise the sound of the playing that had taught him piano anywhere. He didn’t even need to see his face.

Kageyama went pale seeing the way Oikawa smirked and locked eyes with Iwaizumi over the top of the piano. Although his back was turned to Kageyama, he could tell that the cellist was smiling too and his shoulders were moving like he was laughing.

Their sound merged together as if they were one single musician instead of two. A sound like that could only come from a connection that had been developed through years of trust.

Somehow, Kageyama felt jealous.

The piece finished but Kageyama was still staring. He soon realised his mistake as Oikawa turned in the piano stool and caught his eye.

Kageyama panicked and continued down the corridor.

“I’ll be right back,” Oikawa sprung up from the piano stool.

“Hey, where are you going? We’re in the middle of a rehearsal.”

“I’ll be two minutes.”

Oikawa swiftly pursued Kageyama into a room a few doors down the hall.

Kageyama was at the upright piano that sat against the wall of the tiny practice room.

“Tobio-chan!”

“I need to practice, please go away.”

“So rude!” Oikawa swooped in closer and leaned over Kageyama, a little too close for comfort. “What did you think? Did we sound okay?”

“Since when do you ask for my opinion?”

“Sheesh, you’re so touchy,” He tried to grab a hold of Kageyama’s sheet music, “What are you playing?”

Kageyama swatted him away like you would do with an annoying fly.

“It’s none of your business. You’re not my teacher anymore.” Kageyama put the sheet music on the piano and sifted through it.

“I know, I know, but I still need to check up on you. You’re still my darling underclassman.” Oikawa picked a sheet of the music off the stand and examined it.

“When will you stop,” Kageyama snatched the paper from him, “ _obsessing_ over me?”

Oikawa pretended to be shocked, then his face turned serious; dangerous, “Don’t be so vain. I know you’d like to think I’m obsessing over you but I can assure you I’m not. Everyone knows you’re just a down-graded version of me. And I _detest_ imitation.”

Kageyama burst out laughing, something that genuinely shocked Oikawa because he swore it was the first time he had ever seen him laugh.

Kageyama stood up from the piano, “Get over yourself. It’s obvious that you feel threatened by me and you’re trying to compensate for it by acting like you’re superior to everyone else. You’re not that special.” Kageyama’s voice was low, his words sharp and testing.

There was so much he wanted to say to Oikawa now that he was free of him. Well, he was _supposed_ to be free of him but, right now, it seemed like he could never escape.

Oikawa was up in his face now, forcing Kageyama to back up into the piano, his knees threatening to give way to the impact.

“Oh, Tobio-chan, I see you gained some balls since middle school.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“It’s your name isn’t it?”

“It sounds disgusting when you say it.”

Oikawa laughed, his hands coming up to comb through his hair, “Why do you hate me so much? All I’ve ever done is help you. You wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me.”

“I started playing piano long before I met you.”

“But I made you into the pianist you are today.”

“I think you’re giving yourself a little too much credit. I worked hard.”

Oikawa grabbed his shirt collar with so much force that Kageyama’s breath hitched a little.

“What the fuck do you know about hard work? You’re a _genius_ , you’ve never had to work a day in your life. Everything is so easy for you. Don’t give me that shit about ‘hard work’. You wouldn’t know anything about it.”

“Oh, and you would?”

Oikawa swore he would’ve punched the boy there and then if Iwaizumi and Hinata hadn’t showed up. He was practically dragged away from Kageyama by a pissed Iwaizumi. The cellist apologised as he left with Oikawa tailing behind him.

Hinata stood a little awkwardly in the doorway.

“Is everything alright?”

Kageyama sighed and adjusted his shirt collar, slumping back onto the piano stool.

“He’s really scary. Scarier than Tsukishima, I would say,” Hinata started getting his violin out of its case.

“He’s an asshole.”

“Agreed,” Hinata began tuning and Kageyama pressed down on the tuning notes on the piano to help him. “So, what are we going to play?”

“Well, I was going to try and pick something before you got here but…”

“It’s alright, let’s pick something together,” Hinata squeezed in next to Kageyama on the piano stool, tucking his violin under his arm, and began to sift through the sheet music.

Kageyama had to bring his arms up to cross them in front of him as one of his hands accidentally brushed against Hinata’s thigh and he felt his cheeks heating up a little.

“Oooh, how about this one?”

“No, that one’s awful.”

“This one?”

“That’s way too easy.”

“Paganini!”

“No.”

“How about we both pick one and we’ll play both?”

“Fine,” Kageyama snatched the sheets of paper from Hinata’s hand.

Hinata watched him with concern. He knew he and Kageyama would have to understand each other to be able to connect and play well but he was really struggling to work out what he was thinking about.

“What happened with you and Oikawa?”

“He just came in while I was practising and got all up in my face.”

“No, I mean, what happened before that made you so scared of him?”

“I’m not scared of him!” Kageyama spoke far too loudly and Hinata flinched a little.

“Okay, okay, no need to get all defensive about it.”

“I’m not.. You know what, it doesn’t matter and it’s not really any of your business.” Kageyama didn’t look at Hinata when he spoke, pretending to be more interested in the music in his hands.

Hinata felt kinda bad now. Maybe he was being too nosey. “Sorry.”

After a prolonged silence, a particular piece of music caught Hinata’s eye. He gasped, “Can we play this one? _Pleeeease_?”

Kageyama screwed his face up but didn’t have time to protest as Hinata jumped up from the piano stool and started playing.

Debussy’s La fille aux cheveux de lin (the girl with the flaxen hair). Hinata knew it wasn’t really Kageyama’s style even though he knew the pianist liked romantic composers. It was a simple piece but Hinata loved it.

Kageyama almost forgot to start playing because he was watching Hinata so intently, the first chord coming out a little rushed.

Kageyama swore he saw Hinata’s face light up a little when he began playing with him.

Hinata had a way to really engage people in his music. He was good at slow, calm, beautiful pieces and could get your attention with a single note.

Kageyama had to focus really hard. His part with pretty simple but he had to try his best to match Hinata’s tempo and expression. Hinata was unpredictable when he played; he messed around with the tempo and added rubato where Kageyama didn’t really care for it. But that was his style and Kageyama liked the way it sounded.

They had never played together before so, of course, they weren't perfect. Anyone could probably tell they were both soloists. They had the power struggle, the fight for who the audience would be paying attention to in this bar. But there was something about the way that Hinata responded to Kageyama's playing and how it felt like he was testing him, pushing him.

It was a relaxed piece but Kageyama detected an edge to the way Hinata played. He couldn't wait to hear him play something more lively, more _aggressive_.

In what felt like no time at all, the piece came to an end.

Hinata took his violin down and clutched it excitedly in front of him, “That was so cool!”

Kageyama blushed a little, his eyes burning holes into the keys in front of him.

“No one’s ever been able to play with me like that before. One of my friends from middle school played piano but he couldn’t accompany me because he said my playing was all over the place,” Hinata gushed.

“Well, it is,” he ignored the offended look on Hinata’s face, “But I can follow you. You just have to play, don’t think about anything else, and I’ll connect my sound with yours.”

“That’s so cheesy, Kageyama,” Hinata stabbed his forearm with the tip of his bow. Kageyama cried out and batted away a giggling Hinata.

“You have talent Hinata, but I can make you even better,” Kageyama turned and looked up at Hinata from his seat, “So, as long as I’m here, you’re invincible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa and Iwaizumi's duet piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qrKjywjo7Q
> 
> Hinata and Kageyama's duet piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXw-MMn11is&index=6&list=LLml7ULqNgTEy-HFQ6EE8EqA
> 
> "I detest imitation," which Oikawa says, is a quote by Sergei Prokofiev (a composer from the 20th century musical time period)


	10. He was a part of him

“Hey, is it alright if I chill for a while?” Kuroo popped his head into Daichi’s practice room. He had just been to his lesson with Ukai and he knew Daichi would be practising so he could talk to him alone.

Daichi turned in the piano stool, “Is it just you?” His shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he looked visibly stressed. Sheet music was strewn all over the piano and the floor. A crumpled up can of iced coffee sat atop the piano. 

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Kuroo came in and dumped his bag before slouching against the wall next to Daichi’s piano. “You practising for the recital?”

Daichi screwed his face up and tried playing a scale, “No, Ukai’s got me learning these awful scales. My lesson’s in half an hour and I still can’t play them.”

Kuroo looked at the sheets Daichi had on the piano, “Chromatic scales in minor thirds? Shit, I feel sorry for you. Those are the worst. Have you tried the alternative fingering?”

“No, I didn’t think there was one.”

Kuroo pushed him aside and played one of the scales as Daichi watched him closely. “I did _that_ fingering when I learned it. The original fingering is shit.”

“Ohhhh. You’re putting a two and a four there, then a one and a three. That makes so much more sense.”

“Right?” Kuroo let Daichi take his seat back at the piano and watched as he scribbled on his sheets.

Kuroo cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. He had been thinking about what he was going to say to Daichi all day. “I think there’s something we need to talk about.”

Daichi pressed too hard on his pencil and the lead snapped. The minuscule sound rung out in the silent room. He cursed under his breath and pulled a pencil sharpener out of his bag.

He never turned directly to Kuroo when he spoke to him, “What is it?”

“I think you know what I’m talking about.”

Daichi sighed and gave up on sharpening the pencil, seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with it. “So you know, huh?” 

“Of course I fucking do. Do you honestly think I’m that dumb?” Kuroo was usually good at masking his emotions but he was doing a terrible job of it this time.

The pencil was back on the stand, out of Daichi’s hands. “I knew you’d be upset.”

“You lied to me and all your friends. Of course I’m upset.”

“Look, I’m sorry but,” he turned to Kuroo, “that’s not what you’re _really_ upset about, is it?”

Kuroo bunched his hands up into fists at his sides. It was hard for him to meet Daichi’s eyes. Kuroo knew Daichi had him all figured out.

He cursed and turned away from Daichi, pacing around the room in an agitated fashion.

After a while, he stopped pacing and looked straight at Daichi, “You know what? You’re a hypocrite. A great, big, massive, fucking hypocrite.”

“Kuroo..”

“No! Do you remember what you said to me? The reason you gave me back then?” Kuroo imitated Daichi’s voice, “ _Things just can’t work out between us because we’re friends. We’re such close friends and you mean so much to me and I don’t want to ruin it._ But look what you’ve gone and done now. You literally fucked one of your best friends so now I know that excuse was bullshit.”

“This is a completely different thing.” Daichi was starting to freak out. He hadn’t felt guilty about the previous night until now, until he saw how it had affected Kuroo.

Kuroo shook his head, his eyes glassy, “No, it’s not…I’m over you, Daichi. I seriously am. That isn’t what this is about. I just can’t believe you would tell me something and then do the complete opposite. Why couldn’t you just have been honest with me?”

“I was..honest, Kuroo, I _was_ … Back then, I was scared that I would fuck up and you would hate me and I’d never see you again,” Daichi’s voice was a little hoarse the way it always was before he cried, “I would rather have sacrificed a little to keep us just as friends so I knew I wouldn’t lose you. I was just dumb and scared, I’m sorry.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Daichi looked up at him in surprise, “What?”

“If that’s true, even though I know it isn’t, that just means you don’t give a shit about Suga, doesn’t it? What is he to you? Just a fuckbuddy for whenever you feel like it?”

“No, of course not. Suga and I have been a relationship for a while now. He’s very special to me.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“ _This_ is why. Look how upset you are, Kuroo. This is why I couldn’t tell you.”

Kuroo smirked but there was something cold about it, “So he’s worthy of the mighty Daichi’s dick and I’m not. That’s all you needed to say.”

Daichi felt like he couldn’t speak anymore. Kuroo was tearing him apart. “Kuroo, you’re like a brother to me.”

“Ouch. I mean, I’ve been friend-zoned before but this is on a whole other level.”

“Kuroo, I did this to protect you.” His hand reached out to the taller boy.

Kuroo looked at Daichi in a way he never had before. In all the years they’d known each other, Daichi had never seen Kuroo look _disgusted_ with him.

“You’re so fucking considerate, Daichi. Someone should give you a medal.” He grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

Daichi sprung up from his seat and blocked Kuroo’s exit, “Kuroo, wait. You need to let me explain.”

“You’ve explained enough. Get out of my way.” Kuroo shoved him hard and made his way down the corridor. Daichi called after him hopelessly.

He managed to get round the corner to where Daichi couldn’t see him anymore before he started crying properly. He threw his head back against the wall and felt the tears rolling down his cheeks and onto his shirt.

He wiped them away with his hand and said to himself, “Get a hold of yourself, Kuroo. You’re way too hot to cry.”

Kuroo startled as someone came up and spoke to him softly.

“Hey. What happened?” It was Kenma.

“Oh, shit. You scared me! It’s nothing, I’m fine.” Kuroo waved his hands in front of him and smiled.

“It’s not fine, you’re crying.”

“I’m allowed to cry sometimes! Give me a break,” Kuroo laughed, wiping the tears away again.

Much to Kuroo’s surprise, Kenma lurched forwards and wrapped his arms around Kuroo, hugging him tightly.

“K-Kenma, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to make you feel better. It’s working, right?” Kenma looked up at him, his eyes calm.

Kuroo smiled genuinely, “Yeah, it is.”

Kenma was a little taken aback. He had expected Kuroo to answer with a quip, some stupid joke to ease the tension a little, but Kuroo was completely straightforward with him.

It was in that moment, when he was holding Kenma, that he realised something. Kenma was the one that had always been there for him.

They were inseparable as kids. They grew up on the same street - they were next door neighbours, in fact - and even now they were still close.

Kuroo had helped Kenma through so much. He always made sure Kenma was comfortable and that he didn’t feel pressured to do things he didn’t want to do. And he was there on the days where Kenma really hated himself and didn’t see the point in anything and couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed.

Kuroo was also the one that convinced Kenma to start playing violin so the two of them could play duets together. Kenma hated it at first. He never had the motivation to practice for long so he thought about giving up a lot. He wasn’t confident enough to play in front of other people but he could always play in front of Kuroo. He was the only one who wouldn’t judge him or make fun of him.

Kuroo was always there to spur him on. Kenma had never understood why Kuroo was so pushy with him, why he never let him be.

When it came down to it, all Kuroo really wanted was to see Kenma happy.

Kenma was as supportive of Kuroo as Kuroo was of him, even more so at times. It may not have appeared that way to outsiders, people that didn’t know them, but Kenma had spent countless nights on the phone to Kuroo until 4am when Kuroo was freaking out about a recital or when things got really bad with his family.

Kuroo wasn’t a big believer in having another person complete you, on being dependant on someone, but he knew he wouldn’t last a day without Kenma. He was a part of him, in a way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was half drunk when I wrote this chapter and I get really angsty when I'm drunk...sorry


	11. The King and his hollow crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternative chapter title: betrayal  
> alternative alternative chapter title: ANGST CENTRAL

The entire school had been notified at 10am via the tannoy system of an impromptu assembly. They all made their way to the rehearsal hall which also doubled as the main venue for holding assemblies.

The atmosphere was exhilarating as the school’s separate departments rarely ever mixed so the students revelled at the chance to catch up and engage in idle conversation with their fellow students from other departments. People were hugging and greeting each other like they hadn't seen their friends in years. With their busy schedules, that could well have been the case.

Kageyama had to drag a reluctant Hinata from their duet practice to the hall so they wouldn’t be late. They had been having a really productive practice and Hinata didn't want to stop. 

In their struggles, Kageyama tripped on his shoe laces - which he later found out Hinata had purposefully untied when he wasn't paying attention - and ended up shoving Hinata into someone in the crowded hall.

The pair bowed and apologised frantically. A tall, thin boy turned around and surveyed them for a second as if he recognised them. He gasped and Kageyama and Hinata bolted upright.

“Oh, hello! You must be the first years Kuroo told me about!”

Kageyama looked puzzled but Hinata’s face lit up as he stared at the giant before him. “Kuroo told you about us?!”

“Yeah! A really short guy with red hair and a loud voice and a scary looking guy with dark hair. I think that’s what he said,” He smiled at them, wide and cheerful, “I’m Lev Haiba, first year. I play bassoon. Nice to meet you.”

He gave his hand to Hinata and shook it with vigour, making Hinata think his arm was going to detach from his shoulder.

He moved to Kageyama who gripped his hand and gave it a stern shake, trying to be intimidating as he glared upwards.

“Oooh, that’s a weird name,” Hinata queried.

“I’m half Russian.”

“Guess that explains why you’re so tall,” Kageyama said almost bitterly.

Lev beamed at him, “Yup! I’m six foot, four and a half inches.”

“Wow! Um, I’m Hinata Shouyou and this is Kageyama Tobio. He plays piano and I play…”

“..Violin, right? I guess that’s the only instrument you could play. You’re so small!”

Hinata caught sight of Kageyama snickering and elbowed him hard in the stomach.

“Hey, why’d you hit me, dumbass?!”

“You were laughing at me!” Hinata turned back to Lev, his hands bunched into fists at his sides, “I may be small, but I can make a bigger and better sound than anyone here!”

“Wow! You’re pretty cool, little guy.” Lev looked over his shoulder as he heard someone call his name. “Looks like I gotta go. It was nice meeting you both.” He waved to them and left calling after his friend, “Yaku-san!!”

Hinata startled when he saw Kageyama’s killer glare directed at him, “What did I do this time?”

“That doesn't make sense. There’s no way you could play louder than a piano. Definitely not a trumpet or drums either. Actually, violin is probably the quietest instrument you could’ve playe-“

“Shut up, Kageyama!”

“Alright, alright! Settle down, everyone. Thank you.” Ukai strolled onto the stage and waved his arms to get everyone’s attention. In a matter of moments, they had filled up the audience chairs whilst a couple people stood at the back.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make this as quick as I possibly can.”

Ukai seemed too relaxed to be a teacher, Hinata thought. All the teachers at his middle school were so strict or stressed all the time but Ukai acted nonchalant about everything.

“We have a very special competition coming up in a couple months time. What makes it special is that there are virtually no rules on what you can play.”

Kageyama and Hinata saw all the older students look at each other and exchange glares of confusion and excitement.

“There are no set pieces or composers and you aren’t bound to play in groups from just your year. So that means there can be duets, trios, quartets, whatever with a mixture of people from any year.”

The room erupted into a thousand different conversations as people chatted to those next to them and shouted across the room to get someone else’s attention. It reminded Hinata of when the teacher would ask the class to pick groups and everyone would run around frantically in an attempt not to be left in a group on their own.

Ukai shushed the room, waiting for the chatter to die out before speaking again, “Okay, let’s quiet down now. I know this is all _very_ exciting. The reason we’re having a competition like this is so the university scouts that visit us every year can see how you guys play when it is completely up to you. This means that what you choose to play and who you choose to play with is just as important as how you actually play.”

Hinata kept trying to catch Kageyama’s eye but the taller boy’s gaze was fixed on the stage.

“Of course, we are open to solo performances as well however, each student can only play once so you can’t do a solo and then also be part of an ensemble, though I’m sure that won’t be a problem for anyone. The competition will run for two weeks starting on Monday 6th June and the finals will be on Friday 17th June. Bear in mind that this isn’t compulsory but I would strongly recommend you participate. The country’s top universities will have scouts at the final so its an excellent opportunity for all of you in every year to get your name out there. The deadline for sign ups is this Thursday so get your groups together quickly. That’s all. Get back to your classes please.”

The room broke into anarchy again as people made their way to the sign up sheets at the back of the hall.

Kageyama tried to stand up but Hinata grabbed his arm tight, “We’re gonna play together, right?”

Kageyama froze. He was actually intending on signing up to play a solo. He knew he would be scouted and could even go to university after his second year of high school on a scholarship. His career as a soloist could take off in a matter of months if he won this competition.

But then Kageyama looked at Hinata and felt the weight of his arm gripping onto his and he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He remembered the first time he saw Hinata play and how it felt like he not only saw Hinata differently, but he also saw himself differently.

He remembered watching Oikawa and Iwaizumi playing together and, even after a thousand times of watching their duets, he never once saw their chemistry fade.

He wanted that, he really did. But he was also selfish.

“I…I was..”

The smile dissipated from Hinata’s face, “You were going to sign up to play solo, weren’t you?” Hinata released his grip on Kageyama’s arm, looking up at him hopelessly.

Kageyama never doubted himself until he was caught in Hinata's gaze. Those brown eyes always made him falter. 

“Well, I mean, if I win and get scouted I could go to one of the best universities in the county and maybe one day play in one of the top symphony orchestras. This is my chance.”

Hinata looked at the ground and began to fidget, “Is it not my chance too?”

“Huh?”

“You’re not the only one with a dream, Kageyama,” Hinata’s eyes glazed over and he looked up from the floor.

“This isn’t a dream for me, Hinata. This is my _reality_.”

Hinata clutched his knees and felt the grip on the fabric of his jeans tighten.

There weren’t many people left in the room anymore; a couple of people were still signing up for the competition and making their way out and back to class.

Hinata’s voice was a lot quieter the next time he spoke, “You sound so sure that you’re going to win. What if you don’t?”

“I _will_ win.” There was no hesitation whatsoever from Kageyama, although he had to stuff his shaky hands into his pockets.

“But what if you don’t?!” Hinata’s outburst earned him some strange looks from other students but he took no notice. All he felt was a sense of betrayal. He couldn't understand why Kageyama would ask him to play a duet one day then completely turn his back on him the next.

Kageyama was rendered momentarily speechless. He hadn’t realised before now how much this meant to Hinata.

“I have to do this, Hinata. I’d never forgive myself if I let an opportunity like this go.”

Hinata was unshaken even though tears were pooling in his eyes. There was a harsh edge to his voice that was almost intimidating to Kageyama. “But what if you don’t win and then it’s just you. You lose and you’re all by yourself on stage. You turn and look around and the stage is empty. No one’s there to comfort you, you have no one to trust. It’s your fault that you lost. That’s _terrifying_.”

Kageyama swore his breath hitched when Hinata said that last word. He sat in his chair and slumped down in it. Memories from their competition in middle school seemed to hit Kageyama like a bus.

Hinata was right.

The finals of that middle school competition. Kageyama remembered playing with everyone and everything was fine then… they were all gone and it was just him playing. He remembered seeing the conductor look disappointed with him as he told him to get off the stage. He was supposed to have won. He beat Hinata’s school and got the final, so why couldn’t he win?

He couldn't go through that again. He almost crumbled the first time and he knew for a fact it would be game over for him if it happened again. 

All he would have is an empty, lonely stage. The King and his hollow crown. 

Hinata kneeled down to Kageyama’s level and had to pry Kageyama’s trembling hands from his face.

“Kageyama..?” Hinata had moved from being angry to concerned now. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt over his hands and attempted to dry the tears that travelled down Kageyama’s cheek.

Kageyama tried to bat him away and was embarrassed now because he didn’t realise he had been crying.

“Hinata, I’m sorry,” Kageyama twiddled his thumbs anxiously, “Let’s go sign up.”

Hinata guffawed, “Seriously?!”

He nodded in reply, “You’re right, I don’t want to face this alone. We can win together and if I have to lose, I’d rather lose with my partner.”

Hinata smiled from ear to ear, happy tears dampening his cheeks. He grabbed Kageyama’s hand and forced him up from the seat and to the back of the hall to fill in the sign up sheets.

Hinata’s eyebrows knitted together as he watched Kageyama write their names down.

Kageyama took note of his confused look. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re partners now, huh?”

Kageyama blushed but tried to conceal it with a scowl, “Well, obviously!”

Skipping towards the door, Hinata smirked, “I thought you said you didn’t like me, Kageyama. I’m starting to think that was a bit of a lie.”

Hinata winked and pushed the door open, taking care to jump through it before bursting into a fit of giggles at it swung back and hit Kageyama.

“I hate you, dumbass!”

Hinata was cackling as he watched Kageyama get to his feet and stumble about slightly dazed. “I hate you too, _baka_ geyama.”


	12. Playing strangers

It was around a week later and the day of the recital. Hinata and Kageyama had arrived on time, for once, and had secured seats in the front row. They found themselves in the same theatre in which they spent most of their breaks and lunches and where they had both played for everyone for the first time.

But the room felt so different now. The lights were low and the room buzzed with anticipation as the audience filled the theatre’s seats. The venue’s capacity was around a couple thousand and Hinata revelled in the fact that he would soon be able to play in front of an audience this size.

Hinata fidgeted around in his seat. “I’m nervous for them.”

Kageyama flicked through a programme that he had swiped from the front entrance. “Don’t be. They’ve played recitals like this a hundred times.”

“I know but,” Hinata was grinning from ear to ear, “isn’t it more exciting when you’re nervous? It makes you play better, I think.”

Kageyama sighed and began cracking his fingers, an action that made Hinata wince a little.

What Hinata said reminded him of things Oikawa used to tell him and it made him uneasy.

_Being all shaky like that is just going to make you mess up._

_A stage is no place for nerves._

He had been conditioned not to feel nervous, to trust his own instincts and not to think about everyone watching. To play for himself.

But Hinata was the complete opposite. He played for other people and _enjoyed_ the butterflies and nausea that came with playing in front of large audiences. So weird, Kageyama thought.

~

Kuroo and Kenma waited in the wings off the side of the stage, hovering around as Ukai welcomed everyone and blabbered on about the arrangements for if a fire alarm were to go off.

They were on first but Kuroo’s page turner was nowhere to be seen.

Kuroo really didn’t need this right now. He looked at his watch impatiently, “Where is he? We’re on in a few minutes.”

Kenma, who had had his eyes fixed on the stage, turned to Kuroo, violin in hand, “He’ll be here, don’t worry.” Kenma hesitated for a second, “You know, we could’ve gotten someone else to do it. It didn’t have to be him.”

“That would just make things worse, wouldn’t it? It’s fine, it really doesn’t matter. All he’s doing is turning my pages.”

“You sure you’re fine?”

Kuroo sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, all smirks and nonchalance like he usually was. “Of course, yeah. I'm fine. But can we just talk about how good I look in black?”

Kenma rolled his eyes not so subtly, “You say that every time.”

“Because it’s true!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Daichi ran up behind them, slightly out of breath as if he had just ran. “I always need to pee right before a concert.”

Kenma smiled at him but Kuroo didn’t indulge him even as much as a glance of recognition.

Seconds later they were being ushered on stage by members of the sound and lighting crew. Kenma went on first, followed by Kuroo then Daichi. Kuroo smiled and waved his hand a little out into the sea of faces in the audience when he heard someone - obviously Bokuto - whooping and hollering amongst the applause.

Kuroo bowed and took his seat at the piano, laying out his music and then proceeding to crack his fingers and knuckles. Kenma got into position and began tuning his violin quietly.

Kuroo was dangerously aware of Daichi’s presence. He could almost feel his body heat radiating from behind him. It was throwing him off and he knew it.

The last week had been painful in more ways than one. Kuroo knew he couldn’t just avoid Daichi although, in hindsight, that seemed like the easier option. He shared a room with the guy so there was no escaping.

He had avoided dropping in on Daichi’s piano rehearsals and took to spending lunches with Kenma practising for their recital. Sure, they needed to practise, but sometimes Kuroo felt like it was just an excuse.

Daichi and Kuroo hadn’t spoken properly in a week and Kuroo was really starting to feel it. It’s hard to go from talking to someone every day, constantly, to playing strangers.

Kenma started playing and suddenly Kuroo was snapped back to reality.

Fuck, he really didn’t need distractions right now and, more than anything, he couldn’t let Kenma down.

The violin’s sound carried across the entire room. Kenma really was an amazing player -something that Kuroo, and Kenma himself, often forgot.

Kuroo joined in and he tried his best to push everything else out of his head. Right now, as far as he was concerned, it was just him and Kenma on stage.

The violinist turned back and almost smiled at him and that was all Kuroo needed. He was fully committed now.

The performance was going great. Kenma sounded confident and he really was playing at his absolute best. Kuroo didn’t detect any hesitation with him like he sometimes did when they played particularly big concerts.

Beethoven’s Violin Sonata no.9 “Kreutzer.” It was an exciting, lively piece that Kuroo enjoyed and he loved how it made Kenma open up and really express himself.

In all honesty, Kuroo completely forgot Daichi was there for a second and he was completely immersed in the music; _their_ music.

That didn’t last for long, though.

Kuroo spotted Daichi get up out of the corner of his eye and reach over to turn the page. A page turner can usually turn the pianist’s page without invading their personal space too much but, to Kuroo, it felt like Daichi was far too close for comfort.

He could feel Daichi’s breath on his neck and he swore he nearly played a bum note. He was _this_ close to fucking everything up.

Why was he suddenly so edgy? He’d had Daichi turn pages for him and vice versa a thousand times.

Kuroo absolutely _detested_ when he let his emotions get the better of him.

~

Iwaizumi was up next playing his cello solo followed by Oikawa’s piano solo. Most people were surprised they didn’t play a duet for once but it was interesting for everyone to hear them as soloists for the first time in a while.

Iwaizumi came off stage to Oikawa in the wings waiting to tell him that he saw people in the audience that were moved to tears by his playing. He replied with a couple ‘shut ups’ and ‘good lucks’ as he watched Oikawa grace the stage sporting a flashy smile.

~

“Oooh, he’s really good at piano. I can see where you get it from, Kageyama!” Hinata rocked excitedly back and forward in his seat. He was still reeling from Kenma’s performance.

“Shut up. You make it sound like he’s my dad.”

“It was a compliment!”

“Let’s not talk about him, okay?” Kageyama looked visibly anxious and he was furiously tapping his fingers on the armrest.

Hinata started jumping about even more when it was announced who was playing next and Suga, Daichi and Kuroo appeared on stage.

Suga was playing Glazunov’s Elegy op.44 on viola with Daichi as his accompanist and Kuroo on page turns.

“Violas sound so pretty and Suga plays so well, doesn’t he, Kageyama?” Hinata’s whispers and nudges to Kageyama earned him a kick on the back of his seat from the person behind him who Hinata assumed was someone’s mother. Hinata apologised and sank back into his chair, trying his best not to get over excited.

~

A few more performances and then it was Kuroo’s solo. He had eventually decided on Weber’s Perpertuum Mobile after deliberating between that one and that Schubert piece.

He was so thankful that he didn’t need a page turner for this piece. He had nearly messed up big time when he was turning pages for Daichi because he was shaking and had to fumble around with the pages a little. Luckily for him, Daichi was familiar enough with the music that he could stand a few bars without the sheet music in front of him.

Playing a solo was nerve-wracking, but for Kuroo, it was always less so than playing with someone else. If he messed up, he would just be disappointing himself but when playing with someone else, you need to think about how it will affect them too.

For Kuroo, there was nothing worse than letting someone important to you down.

The piece was fast and he allowed himself to get lost in the music and the lights and the buzz.

The heat as well; being on a lit stage during concerts in a packed theatre is pretty much the same as setting foot on the sun. Kuroo watched as a bead of sweat dripped off his forehead and onto the piano. He smiled to himself as he thought about how gross Kenma would think that is.

Somewhere along the line, Kuroo stopped thinking and he was just playing. Nothing else mattered for those few minutes and it was just him and the 88 keys in front of him.

~

Daichi’s solo was the final performance of the concert. He played one of his favourites; Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, op 27, no2, 3rd movement.

It was a piece he had been playing for a while and he thought it was a wise choice because he knew it inside out.

His head was in a bit of a flurry but he tried not to let that affect his performance. People were watching him. Suga was watching him.

Kuroo was watching him.

The past week had been a bit of a mess but Daichi didn’t want it to affect this, something he had been practising for for months.

He had come to this school to focus on music and music alone but somehow he’d gotten caught up in everything else. His friends and his more-than-friends were important to him but sometimes it felt like they held him back.

Why was he thinking so much? And who exactly was he thinking about?

 _Stop thinking, stop thinking._ Daichi kept replaying those two words in his head. He needed to focus.

But he had been so close to Kuroo earlier and he couldn’t think straight. Why was _Kuroo_ the one making him feel like this?

~

After the concert finished, Hinata dragged Kageyama backstage to come speak to everyone. Kuroo, Daichi and Suga were surrounded by tons of people they didn't know so Hinata made a mental note to talk to them later.

Hinata spied Kenma sitting by the curtain tapping away on his phone with his violin case on his back.

“Kenma! That was so good, you were amazing!!” Hinata was beaming and waving his arms around like crazy.

“He’s right, that was really impressive,” Kageyama tried a genuine smile.

Kenma blushed a little, putting his phone down for a second, “Thank you very much. And thanks for coming to see us.”

“It’s no big deal. You need to teach me how to play chords and double stops like that, they sounded so good.”

“I think you should probably get your teacher..”

Hinata grabbed his shoulders, “..No, I want you to teach me!”

Hinata noticed that, for the first time, Kenma seemed relaxed around him. He didn’t flinch or turn away when he touched him and that made him happy.

Kenma smiled and nodded back, “Okay.”

Seconds later, Kuroo came up to them and swooped in between Kageyama and Hinata, putting his arms around both of their shoulders.

“What’d you think, virtuosos? We’re obviously not on your level yet but that’s just because you two are up there with Paganini and Lizst-“

Kuroo’s sarcasm was interrupted by Hinata jumping and spinning round to face him. “You were so amazing! Your fingers moved so fast,” Hinata pretended to play an invisible piano, “ like  _gwah_! and _whoosh_!”

Laughing breezily, Kuroo slapped Hinata on the back, “Thanks, little guy.” He turned to Kageyama, “What did you think, Mr. Genius?”

Kageyama had to admit that he was a little bitter. Kuroo could play the pieces that Kageyama really struggled with. Kuroo had big hands but his fingers were surprisingly nimble and he played really naturally. For Kageyama, Weber was the one romantic composer that he couldn’t crack.

“You were good.”

“ _Good_? Is that it?”

“Pretty good.”

“That’s worse, somehow.”

Kageyama’s gaze was stern but he was honest with his words, “Seriously, you played well. I was really impressed.”

Kuroo laughed almost obnoxiously, “Well, it’s nice to know I have the approval of a guy two years younger than me! Don’t get cocky.”

“I’m not trying to be!”

Hinata tried to step in to Kageyama’s rescue, “I swear, he’s not trying to be mean. That’s just what he’s like.”

Kuroo laughed again, “I know! You two are just so intense. You gotta learn to chill a little.”

~

“Where are we going all of a sudden? Don’t you want to stay back and see your parents?” Iwaizumi followed Oikawa out of the theatre and down the empty hall.

“I see my parents all the time. I saw them before the show as well.”

“But don’t you want their opinions on how it went?”

Oikawa was relentless, continuing on his journey down the halls, “You think they’re going to tell me something I don’t already know?”

Iwaizumi muttered under his breath, “Arrogant piece of..”

“Oh, I have an idea!” Oikawa’s face lit up and his pace quickened. “It was ridiculously hot in that hall.”

Iwaizumi agreed. He felt his shirt sticking to him and all he wanted right now was a nice hot shower. He was glad that the generally accepted concert attire is a black shirt and trousers because, if it wasn't, he would have one hell of a sweat patch on his back right about now.

“Let’s just go outside for a bit then,” Iwaizumi was becoming irritated, a common emotion he experienced in Oikawa’s presence, but he was trying not to be snappy. The concert went well and both he and Oikawa were in a good mood. He didn't want to do anything to ruin it.

“You read my mind,” Oikawa led him up steps of a staircase that Iwaizumi had completely forgot even existed and they came out onto the roof of the school.

It was dark the way it was in Tokyo in the late evening; not quite pitch black yet but dark enough that you could clearly see the stars.

Oikawa gasped and stared up at the sky, “Look at all the stars, Iwa-chan.”

“Wow, it’s so nice out tonight,” Iwaizumi stepped out onto the roof and let the door shut behind him.

Oikawa crossed the roof and went to lean on the metal barrier that separated him from a four-story drop straight down. He sighed and looked up at the sky again.

“That’s Orion’s Belt,” Oikawa pointed up at the collection of stars, tracing his finger across them as if he could reach out and touch them.

Iwaizumi stood next to Oikawa. The metal of the barrier was icy cold but it felt good against his burning skin.

“What’s that?” Iwaizumi pointed at a ‘star’ that flashed blue and red.

“Well that’s Jupiter,” Oikawa said all matter-of-fact.

Iwaizumi burst out laughing, “That’s an airplane, you idiot!”

Oikawa slapped his arm, “I know that! I was kidding.”

“Uh huh, sure you were.”

“So mean, Iwa-chan! You know I would’ve been an astronomer if I wasn’t a musician.”

Iwaizumi shifted closer, a little affection softening his words, “I know that. And I would’ve been a doctor.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know I know you better than anyone else does. If you were a doctor, I guess I’d be a fucking, I don’t know, professional volleyball player or something!” Oikawa joked. Iwaizumi jabbed him in the side but it wasn’t a warning, more of a playful gesture.

“Seriously though, I would’ve liked to have been a vet or something.” 

“Nooooo,” Oikawa protested, “You’d see so many dead puppies.”

“But think how many _less_ dead puppies there’d be if I was a vet.”

“True.”

Neither of them spoke for a while. They just enjoyed the feel of cold air on their skin and the distant hum of post-rush hour Tokyo beneath them.

Oikawa was the one to break the silence with something they had both been wanting to say for a while. He swept the hair out of his eyes and spoke, “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot..about the other day after quartet practise and, you know, that time when you tried to..”

Iwaizumi had recently come to notice that Oikawa says ‘you know’ a lot when he’s nervous.

“I never got a chance to apologise for that. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no,” Oikawa waved his arms around frantically, “I..wanted to as well. I don’t know why I pushed you away, it was stupid of me. I guess I was just nervous or something, you know.”

Iwaizumi looked at him and Oikawa swallowed.

“Are you nervous now?”

“Lately, it feels like I’m always nervous when I’m with you, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa looked intently at the stars, hoping they'd tell him the answers to all his problems.

“Me too,” Iwaizumi twiddled his thumbs around.

“You know, Iwa-chan, I didn’t just bring you up here to show you the stars.”

Iwaizumi grabbed the barrier with his hands and swung back slightly, keeping his body up with the strength of his arms. “Yeah, I kinda figured that already.”

He watched the back of Oikawa’s head. He liked seeing the way the curls of his hair moved with the wind. Iwaizumi thought it made him look like a model.

“I was sort of hoping you’d read the mood and try to kiss me again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kenma's piece that Kuroo accompanies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NOF_ueaxJ4 (they play up to about 4:47)
> 
> Iwaizumi and Oikawa's pieces are in chapter 3 if you want to listen again
> 
> Suga's piece with Daichi accompanying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ52k0fR3K8
> 
> Kuroo's solo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0b99RuEBp0\
> 
> Daichi's solo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6s


	13. They've got everything to lose

Swinging open the door carelessly and skipping inside, Hinata tossed his bag onto the floor and clambered up onto his bunk bed.

Yamaguchi was sitting cross-legged on the floor and Tsukishima was on his bed adjacent to Yamaguchi. The pair were studying theory and seemed to be getting a lot of work done. It reminded Hinata of how little work he had done for that class. They got their tests back a few days prior and neither Hinata or Kageyama’s results made it into double digits.

“Why are you guys studying theory?” Hinata propped himself up on his elbows and stared down at them, “You both got an A on that test.”

Tsukishima scribbled something down as he spoke, “That test was easy. It didn’t really mean anything. You were _supposed_ to get an A. How could you not?”

Hinata made a face like he had just been stabbed and hurled a pillow at Tsukishima which he quickly deflected with his arm without even batting an eyelid.

“You don’t have to be good at theory to be a good musician,” Hinata protested and rolled onto his back, his arms folding irritatedly across his chest.

“You kinda do,” Tsukishima retorted, “I still don’t understand how you idiots got into this school. You definitely wouldn’t have if they had theory entrance exams like some other schools have.”

Hinata sprung up from where he was lying and his head would have collided with the ceiling if he had been a few inches taller, “You’re just jealous because we play better than you.”

Yamaguchi spoke up, although he had been trying to keep out of their argument, “Guys, can we just try and get on for once?”

In the past couple weeks since they’d been rooming together, Hinata had had similar arguments with Tsukishima. They just had such different values. Sometimes Hinata wondered why Tsukishima even wanted to come to this school in the first place; he didn’t seem to care much for music and he never really put in any extra effort.

Tsukishima chuckled under his breath and muttered something that Hinata didn’t quite catch. He left a short silence before he spoke clearer so Hinata would definitely hear, “You overestimate your abilities, both you and Kageyama do. Just because you’re _passionate_ about something, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically become amazing. It’s much more complicated than that.”

“Shut up, Tsukishima. I know that already. And I don’t overestimate my abilities. My teacher, all my friends think I’m amazing.” Hinata tried his best not to let Tsukishima get to him but he couldn’t let it slide this time.

Tsukishima was sarcastic, mocking, “Friends? You have those?”

“Yeah, I do, but you don’t know them. They wouldn’t want to hang around with people like you.”

Tsukishima looked up at Hinata for the first time during the conversation. His eyes were still but challenging, “Really? Who are they then?” 

Hinata felt vulnerable under Tsukishima’s glare and he couldn’t understand why. He fidgeted, “Kuroo and Kenma and Daichi and..”

Tsukishima cut him off with an obnoxious laugh, “Seriously? Why the fuck are they hanging out with you?”

Hinata faltered, “Y-you know them?”

“Oh yeah. I hang out with Kuroo all the time. He’s usually free when you have duet practice. Bokuto too. He plays trumpet, I don’t know if you know him.”

“Yes, I do!” Hinata called defensively. He felt betrayed somehow. “Bokuto thought I was so good at violin that he wanted me to teach him.” 

“Right, sure.” Tsukishima was being so smarmy and Hinata wanted to punch him.

Yamaguchi felt he had to defuse the situation so he changed the subject quickly, “Hinata, did you sign up for the competition?”

“Um, yeah. Me and Kageyama are going to play a duet.”

“Of course you are,” Tsukishima’s sardonic tone came so naturally it seemed he had been practising and perfecting it for years.

“Tsukki..” Yamaguchi gave a gentle warning, one that he never followed through on.

“And we’re going to win, just you watch!”

Tsukishima started full-on laughing then. The sound startled Hinata and he curled his hands up into a fist. He was definitely going to punch him one of these days.

“Are you being serious? You can’t honestly believe you’ll win. The competition’s open to all year groups, don’t you know what that means?”

“ _Of_ _course_ I know what that means, I’m not stupid.”

“Well, that’s debatable.”

“I don’t care who we’re up against or how old they are. Kageyama and I can overcome any strong opponent,” Hinata’s words were firm but he was staring down at his hands, studying them like they were the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

“You were at the recital, right? You saw them play,” Hinata nodded in reply to Tsukishima. “So you know what you’re up against. It’s the third years’ last year, they’re not going to hold back, you know.”

“And neither am I.”

Yamaguchi joined in, saving Hinata from a probable hurtful comment from Tsukishima, “But, Hinata, they’ve got everything to lose, it’s their last year and their last chance. That’s why we’re not entering. I.. don’t think it’s fair. We still have two years left but they don’t.”

When he heard Yamaguchi put it that way, Hinata felt kind of bad. He wanted to win so badly but he’d never really thought about the third years. It _was_ their last chance to get scouted by universities. Would Hinata be standing in the way of that if he played in the competition?

Then again, it wasn't like Hinata to be soft, especially when strong opponents were concerned. 

“I understand that but if they haven’t already gotten the attention of universities, that’s their fault, not mine.”

Tsukishima looked almost _impressed_ with Hinata’s comment, his eyebrows raising slightly and his arms coming up to cross against his chest. Still, he didn’t get why Hinata cared so much and why he wasted his energy on pointless things. Tsukishima went back to working on theory as if nothing had happened, nothing had changed.

Hinata threw his head back on his pillow and sighed to himself. He had never thought too hard about why he wanted to enter the competition before but now he was forced to question his motives.

Did he really want to be scouted by universities? He had only just got here, he didn’t want to leave any time soon. But what about his future?

He remembered what Kageyama said and why he wanted to play a solo. Maybe it would’ve been better for Hinata to sit this one out and let Kageyama play himself.

Kageyama would get scouted and would go on to be successful by himself.

The tinge in Hinata’s chest told him that he didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t want Kageyama to go to university and leave him.

Hinata screwed his face up and turned over to bury his head in the pillow. Why was he suddenly so concerned about what Kageyama was doing?

Maybe because they were ‘partners’...

~

It was a couple of days after the recital and Daichi was as stressed as ever. He was in the computer suite where he had been all morning working on his composition that was due for theory class in a few days.

Daichi hadn’t been the only one there - two or three other guys had come and go - but he had been there the longest by far. Three cans of iced coffee and scrunched up pieces of paper littered his workspace.

For some reason, he just couldn’t get the composition to sound right. He played it over and over again on the computer but it never sounded how he wanted it to.

His phone buzzed, notifying him of a text from Suga that said he would come down and see him in a few minutes.

Daichi had never been very good at composing. He was great at theory but it felt like all the creativity left his body the second he was asked to compose a melody.

So far he had 32 bars of a composition for string quartet that was supposed to last at least 5 minutes. It occurred to him that the only reason he passed the composition module of his theory class last year was because Kuroo helped him. In other words, he was well and truly fucked.

“Hi, how’s it going?” Suga arrived and sat in the chair at the computer next to Daichi’s, giving his shoulder a little squeeze. Suga pulled his chair closer towards Daichi so he could see onto his computer.

“Awful,” Daichi put his head in his hands and sighed with frustration.

“I’m sure it can’t be that bad,” Suga took the computer mouse in his hands and then Daichi’s headphones so he could listen to what he had so far.

Daichi watched Suga, eagerly awaiting his opinion. Suga’s brows knitted together as if in intense concentration.

Suga pulled the headphones from his ears and started clicking away on the computer, “It’s good. You’ve got a lot of good ideas, it’s just-“

“I have no idea how to compose for a string quartet.”

“Well yeah.”

“You don’t have to do it all for me,” Daichi attempted to grab the mouse from Suga’s hand but Suga just snatched it behind his head so Daichi couldn’t take it from him.

“I’ve already finished my composition. I wanna help you.”

“Alright, alright,” Daichi leaned back and rocked in his chair, his hands crossing behind his head.

“This Bb in the viola part really clashes with the other parts,” Suga pointed to the screen.

Daichi leaned forward and squinted at the computer, “That’s a Bb? I thought it was an F.”

Suga tried to speak between his laughter, “Daichi, do you even know how to read alto clef?

“I do, I swear!”

“Whatever you say.”

Their relaxed laughter was somewhat cut short by the arrival of someone else in the computer suite.

Kuroo ambled across the room, initially not even noticing Suga and Daichi.

Suga, who had yet to take notice of the awkward tension between Kuroo and Daichi, waved Kuroo over and suggested he sit at the computer next to them.

Kuroo smiled breezily as he took a seat next to Daichi. He removed his headphones and the music kept playing for a few seconds before he reached into his jean pocket for his phone to silence it.

“What were you listening to?” Suga asked, acting like his usual, friendly self as he muddled away with Daichi’s disastrous work.

“BTS released a Japanese version of ‘Run’,” Kuroo logged onto the computer and was totally dismissive of Daichi as he spoke to Suga. “I literally haven’t listened to anything else in weeks.”

“Wait, did they actually?” Suga dropped the mouse and turned to Kuroo, speaking excitedly over his boyfriend who looked completely lost.

“Yeah, you listen to them?”

“Yeah.”

Kuroo legitimately squealed like a twelve year old girl, “Oh my god, who’s your bias? You strike me as a Jungkook kinda guy.”

Suga shook his head, “Nope, guess again.”

“Jimin?”

Suga put one of his index fingers to his nose and pointed the other one at Kuroo, “Bingo! I’m impressed.”

Kuroo looked pleased with himself, cracking his knuckles and smirking, “I have an intuition when it comes to Kpop.” He then realised something and slammed his hand down on the desk, “Wait, why isn’t your bias Yoongi? You missed the perfect opportunity.”

“I know, I know.”

“That’s alright, though. He’s mine.”

Suga turned back to the computer, “Yeah, I thought so. You’re definitely a rap line guy.”

Kuroo shrugged his shoulders, “What can I say? I’m gay and they’re hot, it’s a simple equation.”

“I’ll leave you two to your fangirling. I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Daichi got up from his seat and swooped up the litter from his desk as he went.

Suga watched Daichi go and made sure he had definitely left the room before he next spoke. He had been pretending that he didn’t notice Daichi acting weird with Kuroo because he knew he’d never get a straight answer from Daichi. He had panned to wait until his opportunity to get the story from Kuroo arose, and here it was.

Suga’s head darted from the door that swung shut behind Daichi to turn and face Kuroo in a fraction of a second, “So, what happened with you and Daichi?”

Kuroo coughed and spat the energy juice that he had been drinking down his chin. He cursed and grabbed tissues from his bag to clean himself up.

“What do you mean? Nothing happened.”

“Come on, Kuroo. I know he won’t tell me the truth but you will,” Suga’s gaze was intense and Kuroo felt like he had been taken in for police questioning.

He had to tell Suga the truth or else _he_ would be the hypocrite now, not Daichi.

Kuroo sighed and turned his swivel chair round to face Suga, “I know everything.”

Suga raised an eyebrow questioningly, “About..?”

“You and Daichi didn’t go to that movie the other week.”

Suga suddenly regretted ever asking anything. His cheeks flushed red and he couldn’t look directly at Kuroo, “You..know about that?”

“Yeah.”

“Did Daichi tell you?”

“No, I just figured it out. He’s a pretty bad liar.”

Suga sighed and rubbed his forehead, “Well, you’re certainly right about that.”

Kuroo didn’t say anything back and Suga saw that he was probably annoyed about what happened. “I’m sorry we lied to you. It was Daichi’s idea but I never should’ve agreed to it.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to apologise. I don’t care, it’s not any of my business,” Kuroo turned his chair back and became fixated on his work on the computer all of a sudden.

“Then why are you and Daichi acting differently around each other? I thought you were best friends.”

“Yeah, we are but…I don’t know. It’s fine, it doesn’t matter.”

Suga didn’t want to press the subject because he could see Kuroo was upset about something but he felt like he had the right to know. Kuroo and Daichi were both very important to him so he felt like this was his business.

“Do you have a problem with Daichi and I being together?”

“Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“That’s the only reason to explain why you two have been so distant lately.”

Kuroo clicked so furiously with the mouse that the computer became unresponsive. He hurled multiple insults at the computer and pulled back from it whilst throwing the mouse down to hit the desk with a crash.

“Kuroo, can you just be honest with me, please?”

“Why? Why do you care so much?”

Suga looked offended, an expression on his face that wasn’t normally there, “Because you’re my friend, one of my closest friends and Daichi’s my…”

Suga hesitated and it cost him.

“He’s your what?” Kuroo needed to hear him say it.

“My boyfriend.”

“Is he?” Kuroo questioned.

“Yes! Now tell me what happened with you two.”

Kuroo was angry and frustrated and upset and everything bundled into one.

Usually, he loved winding people up and he got a kick out of it but he felt like Suga was too nice and he couldn’t do it to him. But now, Suga was pissing him off and he didn’t care if he looked like an asshole.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Yes, it _is_!” Suga had raised his voice considerably, his tone pointed.

There was no point lying anymore, Kuroo knew that.

“Alright, alright, fine! I’m in love with your boyfriend, Suga! How’s that? Are you happy now?”

Kuroo heard the door swing shut and that was when he realised how badly he had messed up.

Daichi stood in the doorway, completely motionless. Suga just gaped at Kuroo, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock.

None of the three did or said anything for what felt like forever. It wasn’t until Kuroo grabbed his stuff and got up to leave that time seemed to move again.

Suga tried to get up from his seat and grab Kuroo’s arm, to stop him, ask for an explanation, offer an apology, but he was already gone. He shoved past Daichi and was out of the door before either of them could register what had happened or what had been said.

As Kuroo made his way relentlessly down the corridors, he thought of how he wanted nothing more than for the ground to just swallow him up so he’d never have to show his face around here again.


	14. Alcohol and bad decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> everyone is horny and angsty and I'm not sorry at all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance for this chapter because it's kind of long and might seem a bit random but I just wanted an excuse to write them all drunk, sorry not sorry

Oikawa interrupted Ushijima mid-sentence during quartet rehearsal to share, what he thought was, a brilliant idea with everyone, "Is anyone's birthday coming up?"

"What?" Iwaizumi had no idea what Oikawa was on about but it must've been important if he'd stopped rehearsal for it.

"Why don't we throw a party this weekend?" Oikawa was beaming like he had just come up with the most original idea ever. Teenage boys throwing a party; because that's never been thought of before.

"What's the occasion?" Suga asked whilst he scribbled something onto his sheet music.

"Do we need one?"

"Well, yes. Parties generally have an occasion or purpose," Ushijima cut in.

"Shut up, Ushijima. How about this for an occasion: we all work very hard and we deserve a break. Also, it's been months since I've been off my face and I'm having withdrawal symptoms."

Iwaizumi got his phone out and typed on it. He then pretended to phone someone.

"Who are you calling?" Oikawa queried.

"I'm just calling to book your first AA meeting."

Oikawa slapped him playfully on the arm, "I'm not an alcoholic, Iwa-chan! It's just been _sooooo_ long since we all got drunk together."

"He's right," Suga got his phone out of his pocket, "I'll text Daichi and ask if he's up for it."

"Alright. I'll text Kuroo and ask him to bring who he wants," Iwaiuzmi began typing on his phone again.

"Not too many people, though," Oikawa interjected, "Let's just keep this casual." 

Suga froze and stopped typing when he heard Kuroo's name. Why was he surprised? The party would be in a room that Kuroo stayed in, of course he would be there. It was just that Suga and Kuroo hadn't spoken since what happened the other day and he knew it would be so awkward.

Iwaizumi read a message off his phone, "Kuroo has asked the following: will it be a proper _party_ party where I have to wear pants?"

Oikawa rolled his eyes but answered anyway, "It's just gonna be in our room. Tell him he can wear what he wants."

"He also asked if you can approve this guest list."

Oikawa snatched the phone out of Iwaizumi's hand, "He has a guest list? How many people does he know?" Oikawa scrolled through the names, nodding and shaking his head as he went.

"Everyone on that list is approved except Kageyama and his friend.”

Iwaizumi took his phone back with a concerned look on his face, "I'm not sure he should be inviting first years."

"That's not the problem, it's _who_ he chose to invite that's bugging me," Oikawa said easily, swinging back and forth on the legs of his chair. 

"Okay, so we've got: Oikawa, me, Suga, Daichi, Ushi-"

Oikawa cut in faster than the speed of light, "Nuh uh, no way. He's not going."

Iwaizumi sighed audibly even though he had been expecting it.

"You do realise I'm right here," Ushijima said but he didn't seem offended. He had grown used to it.

"It's my party, I'll decide who comes," Oikawa folded his arms and turned up his nose.

"I can bring vodka," Ushijima spoke monotonously. 

With a sigh, Oikawa spoke, "Alright, you can come."

Ushijima smiled like he was pleased with himself.

Iwaizumi continued reading off his mental list, "So, Oikawa, Ushijima, me, Suga, Daichi, Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi, Tsukishima and Kenma is a maybe."

"Ten people. Sounds like a party," Oikawa stated, "Ushijima's on drinks and no doubt Kuroo will want to be on music."

Iwaizumi smiled at Oikawa. He knew that this party was either going to be great or an utter disaster. 

~

It was the Saturday of that week and the night of the party. Daichi didn't see why his roommates were making such a fuss when all it really was was them having a few friends over for some drinks, nothing they hadn't done several times before. 

Daichi had been offered several of what Oikawa called 'pre-drinks' yet he declined them all - what they were the 'pre' of, he didn't know. He vowed to wait until everyone else arrived before he started drinking. 

Kuroo and Oikawa had already had their first argument of the night and it wasn't even pushing 8pm. Oikawa wanted to put on one of his chill indie playlists to 'set the mood' but Kuroo wanted to put on his favourite SHINee album. In the end Kuroo won and they were stuck listening to 'Odd' on repeat.

In his sober state, Daichi took note of how his friends acted when they were intoxicated as he watched them from his bed.

With Bokuto, it was hard to tell that he was even drunk because he acted exactly the same as usual; running around, probably damaging someone's property by accident and most likely screaming about something - nothing he wouldn't do when he was sober.

Oikawa became somewhat bipolar, going from the life of the party one minute, to sobbing about his cat that died when he was 3 the next. Another thing about Oikawa was that the boy could hold his drink. It could be 3am and everyone else would be completely done for but Oikawa would still be going strong. That was also the time when things got dangerous and he confessed his entire life story to anyone who had an ear to listen.

When it came to drinking, just like with most things, Kuroo and Oikawa were polar opposites. One sip of beer and Kuroo would be out of it. He was always the one who did the craziest shit when he was drunk. Daichi recalled several mishaps that had taken place over the years they'd known each other. Kuroo had once stolen a motorcycle which he proceeded to crash and receive a hefty fine for. He'd proposed to Lev's older sister and asked to move back to Russia to start a life with her. He'd cosplayed Nico from Love Live! and refused to speak to anyone unless they addressed him with the 'Nico, Nico-nii' thing and told him how cute he looked.

Daichi snapped back to reality and noticed he was smiling. He laid back and buried his head into his pillow, a tired sigh of frustration leaving his throat as he recalled the happy memories, annoyed with himself that his mind lingered on them, _longed_  for them. 

Suga and Ushijima were the first to arrive. They were greeted by a slightly tipsy Oikawa who ran straight for the bottles of vodka Ushijima had managed to sneak into the school and ran off with them.

Suga eyed Oikawa cautiously as the other boy started to mix the vodka with what he hoped was cola, "We can't get too carried away. Remember what happened last time." Suga went over and sat on Daichi's bed, causing his boyfriend to turn over and smile at him.

Kuroo bellowed with laughter as the memory occurred to him, "Oh yeah. Bokuto, remember when we TP-ed Ukai's car." Bokuto remembered too and joined Kuroo in his uncontrollable laughter.

"Yeah and you nearly got us suspended," Oikawa called over his shoulder.

Kuroo cleared his throat, "Oikawa, aren't the one who tried to climb a satellite dish to talk to the ' _aliens_?'"

"It seemed like a pretty solid plan at the time."

Lowering his voice so only Daichi could hear, Suga spoke, "Hey, you okay?"

Daichi nodded, inching in closer to Suga and giving him a quick peck on the lips, "Everything's fine. Let's just try and relax and enjoy tonight."

Suga nodded and beamed at him, "Yeah. You want a drink?"

"Sure."

Soon later, the rest of the party arrived. Kuroo went off to collect Kenma and Tsukishima. Iwaizumi and Akaashi were already there by the time he got back, being peer-pressured into consuming copious amounts of alcohol by Oikawa and Bokuto.

~

The party was going well so far. Everyone was tipsy enough not to be talking about anything too serious but not drunk enough yet that they would have a noise complaint to be dealing with. They were all engaging in idle conversations with each other, sipping their drinks and complaining about their problems over the up-tempo hum of Kuroo's girl group playlist. 

Kuroo was sitting on his bed sipping a beer. He beckoned Tsukishima to come sit with him by patting the space next to him. The blonde boy joined him, sampling his own bottle of beer. 

Kuroo put his arm around Tsukishima and got so close that Tsukishima could smell the alcohol on his breath. “You having a good time?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Tsukishima didn’t seem uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem too impressed either.

“What’s wrong? Is it because I’ve been talking to other people? I’m sorry, you have me all to yourself now,” Kuroo was slurring his words ever so slightly and leaning in close to Tsukishima, breathing on his neck.

Tsukishima couldn’t say he minded the situation he currently found himself in. He laughed a little, trying to push Kuroo off him but only jokingly, “Kuroo, you’re the biggest lightweight I know. What’s that, your second, third beer?”

“This is my first beer but I had _tons_ of stuff before that. I’m pretty..hardcore,” Kuroo’s words would’ve had more meaning if he didn’t stop between his last statement to hiccup and have a mild coughing fit.

“You shouldn’t mix your drinks,” Tsukishima patted him on the back until he stopped coughing. Sometimes he had trouble believing this guy was two years older than him.

Kuroo sat himself up straight and smiled, playful and nonchalant, “You’re right, you’re right... You know, maybe I should keep you around more often, Kei. You really know what’s best for me.”

The way Kuroo said his first name made Tsukishima’s stomach twist. He took a long sip of beer.

Kuroo looked disappointed as he studied his empty beer bottle, holding it up to the light and shaking it. He noticed Tsukishima was still in the process of drinking from his so he seized the opportunity.

“Damn, mine is empty. Can I have some of yours?”

Before Tsukishima had even a second to react, to process what was going on, Kuroo had his hand in his hair, had pulled him close and was kissing him hard. It felt like they were the only two people in the room even though Tsukishima could still hear the blur of music and conversation drumming in his ears.

The kiss continued for a good half minute, maybe 45 seconds and Tsukishima didn't want it to end. His head was spinning but he felt Kuroo's tongue in his mouth, felt it glide across his teeth and he couldn't get enough.

When Kuroo pulled away, Tsukishima’s head was dizzy and he did actually feel drunk now.

Tsukishima looked around him anxiously, checking if anyone had seen. Luckily, it looked like no one had taken any notice or, if they had, they weren’t looking anymore.

The corners of Kuroo’s mouth turned into a sly grin and Tsukishima didn’t know if he wanted to kiss him again or punch him.

Kuroo was just about to lean in again, his hand ghosting on Tsukishima's thigh, when Oikawa started shouting for everyone to gather round and hit a beer bottle with his phone to get their attention.

He made everyone sit in a circle and held up the empty beer bottle suggestively, “I think you all know what I’m going to suggest.”

“Are you twelve?” Akaashi called from the opposite side of the circle from where Oikawa was standing.

Oikawa squeezed in between Ushijima and Iwaizumi, “Spin the bottle is very fun, I’ll have you know.” Oikawa had drank the most by far but he didn’t seem fazed at all as he sat politely and crossed his legs. He placed the bottle which he had been holding in the centre of the circle and turned to address everyone.

“I think I should go first since it was my idea,” Oikawa suggested and, seeing that no one was quick to voice any complaints, he shuffled on his knees into the centre of the circle.

The order of seating, which Oikawa valued as very important, was as follows: Oikawa, Iwaizumi to his left, then Daichi, Suga, Kenma, Kuroo, Tsukishima, Akaashi, Bokuto and then Ushijima who was on Oikawa’s right side.

After leaning over the bottle and studying it for what everyone else thought was an unfair and disqualification-worthy amount of time, he spun the bottle with a certain delicate precision, intense concentration etched onto his face.

Either Oikawa was extremely lucky or he had a knack for spin the bottle because it landed on the person he hoped it would.

“This is obviously rigged!” Kuroo cried out in protest, nearly spilling his drink all over Kenma.

“How can you rig spin the bottle?” Ushijima enquired.

“You can’t rig it, Kuroo. Shut up,” Oikawa took his place back between Iwaizumi and Ushijima. “Oh! I should’ve clarified the rules. The kiss has to last at least ten seconds..”

Oikawa was cut off mid-sentence by everyone else yelling and rebuking his rules.

“Okay, maybe ten seconds is a bit long. At least seven seconds. And then the person that the bottle lands on has to spin it next. Oh and french kissing is permitted. That’s it, that’s the rules.”

Oikawa waited to see if anyone else would protest. He turned to his left, “Okay, let’s do this. Everyone else keep count.”

Oikawa began trying to fix his hair and adjust his shirt but he was caught completely off guard by Iwaizumi leaning in and kissing him, softly, gently - exactly the opposite of the way Oikawa wanted to be kissed.

He mentally cursed as he wanted to be the one to initiate it but he had just ended up being all flustered by Iwaizumi taking control.

They had gotten to five seconds but it felt so much shorter than that. Oikawa was starting to wish he had suggested they play seven minutes in heaven instead. At least that would’ve given him a little more satisfaction.

He heard everyone yelling that the seven seconds were up and just as Oikawa went to pull away, Iwaizumi gripped him tighter, like he never wanted to let go. It wasn’t until Daichi and Ushijima physically pulled the pair apart that their lips separated.

Oikawa was flustered and embarrassed and he leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. Iwaizumi laughed it off, claiming that they got a little ‘distracted’ and lost track of time.

Iwaizumi got up from his seat and spun the bottle again, which landed on Ushijima.

Oikawa screamed and protested, “Okay, I take it back. You can rig this game, Kuroo rigged it.”

Kuroo couldn’t hear over his own laughter.

Iwaizumi and Ushijima leaned over a disgusted and jealous Oikawa to lip-lock. All Iwaizumi could taste was Oikawa, not the alcohol on his own or Ushijima’s lips. Oikawa was stronger than that.

They pulled apart and everyone was loving it, laughing and joking and taking pictures. Kuroo got up to change the music to a 'sexy time' playlist he found on Spotify.

Ushijima was next to spin and his turn landed on Kuroo.

Kuroo’s laughter was silenced when he saw the neck of the bottle face towards him. He got onto his hands and knees and prowled over to Ushijima like a cat.

“I’m coming for you, daddy,” Kuroo purred.

Bokuto nearly threw up from laughing too hard. Kenma hid behind his phone in embarrassment. Tsukishima buried his head in his hands and tried to pretend he didn't know Kuroo.

Kuroo was trying to act like he was the one in control but before he could do anything, Ushijima had his hand on his neck and the timer began. Kuroo stopped thinking and the seconds seemed to pass in an instant.

They pulled apart and Kuroo smirked, “Not bad.”

Ushijima nodded to him as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, “You’re not so bad yourself either.”

“That was the most polite thing I’ve ever seen,” Akaashi said to them both.

Kuroo was the one to answer, “Yeah, I mean, it may have looked polite but I was actually sticking my tongue down his throat.”

Akaashi screwed up his face in disgust. Kuroo was far too obscene for someone who everyone knew was a massive virgin.

Kuroo laughed and made finger guns to Ushijima, “Nah, I’m joking, but next time, right?”

Ushijima shrugged, “You know where to find me.”

Bokuto and Oikawa screamed. Multiple bottles of beer and several glasses of vodka had been spilled on the carpet but no one seemed to care. 

Kuroo returned to his space and sent the bottle spinning once again, “Let’s see who’s the lucky guy.”

The bottle spun for what felt like forever before it landed on Tsukishima.

Kuroo smirked. _Bingo_.

“Alright,” he leaned into Tsukishima’s personal bubble and spoke softly, his voice slightly hoarse, “You ready for round two?” Kuroo smirked upon seeing Tsukishima's cheeks heat up. He could definitely have some fun with this guy.

Kuroo's vague comment confused everyone else but they paid it no notice as watched what was very obviously french kissing on both of their parts.

Bokuto was whooping and hollering, Oikawa was clapping excitedly, Daichi and Suga watched on like concerned parents and Iwaizumi was filming on his phone because he knew Kuroo wouldn’t remember in the morning and would require visual proof of what happened.

Seven seconds was up. They pulled apart and Kuroo had to wipe away a little saliva from the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth.

“That was pretty hot,” Bokuto commented.

“Bokuto, if you pop a boner I’m not taking care of it. I’ve told you already, I don’t do that anymore,” Kuroo joked across the circle.

Bokuto pretended to be upset, keeping the joke going, “You’re no fun.”

“I’m sorry, bro, but 500 yen per hand job just isn’t liveable, you know.”

Bokuto nodded, “I understand.”

Most of the group looked disgusted but Kuroo and Bokuto laughed to themselves, the alcohol clouding their judgment of good humour.

It was Tsukishima’s turn. His spin landed on Daichi.

Daichi gave Suga a nudge as if to ask for permission. Suga extended his arms towards Tsukishima, granting it.

Kuroo watched them kiss and was feeling uncomfortable, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with Suga. It occurred to him that he was sharing an indirect kiss with Daichi.

Kenma gave Kuroo a little nudge to get his attention.

“Hm?” Kuroo looked down to Kenma.

“You alright?”

Kenma had obviously noticed how red Kuroo’s face was. He had hoped he could blame it on the alcohol but Kenma knew him too well for that.

“ ‘Course, don’t worry.”

Daichi spun and got Suga. They didn’t hesitate long enough to hear Oikawa’s protests.

Just like Oikawa and Iwaizumi, their kiss lasted a little longer than seven seconds - it was actually closer to thirty seconds. They were finally pulled off each other when some heavy petting starting getting involved.

When Kuroo saw the way their eyes met after the kiss, he felt a little sick and it wasn't just because of all the booze he'd been mixing. 

Oikawa was yelling, “That’s not fair, they’re a couple!”

“Wait, they’re a couple?!” Bokuto exclaimed. It seemed he was the only one who hadn’t caught on. He was too drunk to try and piece everything together and rationalise - not that Bokuto was any good at that even when he was sober.

“Yes,” Oikawa continued his rebuttal of their kiss, “That one doesn’t count. Daichi, you have to spin again.”

Daichi sighed but he did what Oikawa said, not wanting to cause an argument out of it.

He spun again and felt his heart sink when the bottle finally stopped. Given the current situation he was in, it literally couldn’t have landed on anyone worse.

Kenma panicked. He looked up at Kuroo, expecting him to say something.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this one.”

“And why not?” Oikawa questioned. He wasn't up for having someone ruin his game.

That's the thing, this was just a game to everyone else but it wasn't to Kuroo, not anymore. 

“He’s my best friend, that’s weird,” Kuroo complained, getting a little flustered.

Everyone could tell something was wrong because they hadn’t expected Kuroo to be the one to refuse to kiss someone.

Oikawa folded his arms, “Iwa-chan’s _my_ best friend. You didn’t see me complaining.”

Kuroo scowled, “Shut up. You know that’s different.”

Raising an eyebrow, Oikawa teased, “How so?”

“You clearly have a massive hard on for Iwaizumi.”

Oikawa scoffed and looked around the group, “And you don’t for Daichi? Try and be a bit more discreet next time.”

Kuroo grabbed the beer bottle from the centre of the circle and held it above his head like a weapon. Oikawa’s eyes were fiery. He remembered an argument they had like this a while back. Oikawa was good at twisting the story, turning the tables.

“He has a boyfriend.”

Oikawa was unshaken, “He didn’t mind when it was with Tsukishima. It’s not a problem, is it, Suga?”

Suga didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t say it was a problem because that would basically be the same as ratting Kuroo out. But then again, he wasn't too keen on seeing his boyfriend kissing someone who had just confessed his love for him a couple days ago.

“No, it’s not a problem.”

Oikawa sat back, looking pleased with himself, “There you go.”

Kuroo returned to his seat and set the bottle down, making a mental note to strangle Oikawa in his sleep. He took a swig of his drink, praying it would give him some much needed courage, and shuffled over to Daichi.

Kuroo spoke as quietly as he could to Daichi, knowing Suga would probably hear too, “This doesn’t mean anything.”

Daichi shook his head, “It’s fine. Don’t think too much.”

And then Daichi was kissing him. Kuroo didn’t think his heart had ever beat that fast in his entire life. It felt like there were no nerves in his body anymore.

His head was spinning. Spinning with things he’d said, things he really shouldn’t have said. He tried to blame it on the alcohol, he tried to convince himself it was something it wasn’t but he knew what he felt.

Kuroo wished he never had to kiss Daichi because now he was going to miss these seven seconds more than anything in the world.

He tried reasoning. He tried to remember Tsukishima and what it felt like with him, what he tasted like, but everything was Daichi.

Tsukishima was nice and he liked him but, at the end of it all, he was just a distraction. Easy prey, that’s what he was. He was a nice guy and Kuroo felt bad for leading him on but in a way he didn’t feel any remorse at all. He was shitty like that.

No, he was only shitty when Daichi was involved. Kuroo was nice and honest and he cared about his friends, he cared about other people. Perhaps, he cared too much.

That was his problem; Kuroo cared too damn much about something that would never care back.

But something in the way Daichi kissed him, the way he held their bodies pressed close together, told Kuroo that maybe this wasn’t entirely one-sided.

They separated and Kuroo tried to push those thoughts far, far away to the back of his mind.

Kuroo was still hazy as he spun the bottle again and it landed on Bokuto.

“You gonna complain about this one too?” Oikawa quipped, which earned him a hard jab to the abdomen from Iwaizumi.

“Nah, Bokuto and I make out _all_ the time, right?” Kuroo watched as Bokuto shuffled across the circle to face his best friend.

“Oh yeah,” Bokuto looked to Oikawa and Daichi, "You guys have _no_ idea what goes on when you two are asleep."

Bokuto was swaying a little and Kuroo was almost concerned because he was usually pretty good at holding his drink.

“That thing about the hand jobs wasn’t a joke, you know.” Kuroo wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular but Akaashi and Oikawa both rolled their eyes.

The two biggest idiots in the room kissed and acted just as dumb as everyone had expected them to. Bokuto got really into it and pushed Kuroo onto his back, jokingly kissing his neck and asking Kuroo to marry him.

“Bro, I love you. Let’s get married, let’s run away together. I love you.”

Kuroo laughed and tried to push an obviously drunk Bokuto off him, “Sorry, bro. You’re great but I’m just not ready for that sort of commitment yet.”

Bokuto pretended to sulk as he made his way back to his seat, scowling as he spun the bottle. 

The scowl suddenly left his face as the bottle stopped at Akaashi.

"Ohohoho," Kuroo called and Iwaizumi did a low-key fist bump. Oikawa guessed there was something he didn't know. 

Bokuto got all fidgety under Akaashi's gaze. This would be so different from the one with Kuroo.

"Do you mind?" Akaashi asked, seeking Bokuto's permission because he obviously looked uncomfortable. 

Bokuto gave up completely on holding back and dove straight in, capturing Akaashi's lips with his. 

Akaashi reacted positively, threading one of his hands into Bokuto's hair whilst the other traced up and down his bicep. Their's was another kiss that went over the time limit considerably. 

Kuroo saw something in their kiss that was similar to Suga and Daichi's and Oikawa and Iwaizumi's. Something Kuroo was jealous of; a mutual feeling.

~

Spin the bottle continued for a while into the night until every combination had been done at least once. Some were awkward - Kuroo and Oikawa's is something they've both sworn never to speak of - and some were just downright inappropriate - Oikawa and Iwaizumi were almost kicked out on their second round when Oikawa's hands started exploring, Kuroo and Tsukishima were the same once neck biting got involved. 

When spin the bottle was over, the drink was well and truly used up and everyone's spirits were starting to wean.

Kenma was the first to leave, claiming he felt uncomfortable and was going to 'disown' Kuroo the next morning. Ushijima followed in suit, before Bokuto went to 'walk Akaashi back to his room', which everyone just accepted to be some sort of euphemism. 

Daichi accompanied Suga on his way back to his room across the hall.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi lingered in the doorway, out of sight from Kuroo and Tsukishima who were doing god know's what on Kuroo's bed at the other side of the room. 

Iwaizumi pressed Oikawa up against the wall, planting gentle, sloppy kisses onto his neck. Oikawa giggled and pretended to push him off even though that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I just wish I could fuck you right now," Iwaizumi's voice was low as he whispered in Oikawa's ear, the vibrations sending chills down Oikawa's spine.

"You're really drunk, Iwa-chan. Maybe another night," He kissed Iwaizumi's forehead almost apologetically and lowered his voice by several decibels, "Let's find some place where it's just you and me. Then it'll be perfect."

They smiled at each other, bidding good nights and then Iwaizumi was on his way. Oikawa laughed as he watched Iwaizumi fumble with his door keys to his room across the hall.

Oikawa shut the door and turned the main lights on in the room. He screwed his face up when he Kuroo and Tsukishima getting a little too cosy on Kuroo's bed.

"You guys are gross. Come on, it's bed time. Especially for a first year," Oikawa started to get changed into his pyjamas.

Kuroo spoke, a little breathless, from on top of Tsukishima, "Can't you go stay at Iwaizumi's?"

"No, sadly, I cannot. I would love to go and make sweet, sweet love to Iwa-chan but he has _roommates!"_ Oikawa began to hit Kuroo with a pillow, managing to maintain his sarcastic tone as he beat Kuroo more senseless than he already was, "So I can't." 

"Okay, okay!" Kuroo pulled himself off Tsukishima and attempted to straighten his clothes a little, not that it made any difference. He gave Tsukishima a wink as he watched him go and mouthed the words 'call me'.

Oikawa watched the first year leave and turned to Kuroo in horror, "You disgust me, Kuroo Tetsurou."

Kuroo laid back on his bed, removing his half unbuttoned shirt in the process, "You're not exactly an angel yourself."

"He's just a kid."

"So am I. So are you."

Oikawa rubbed his forehead, "You're a fucking piece of work."

Kuroo laughed, "You sound like my mum."

"Good. I think you need your mum to come here to sort out all your bad decisions."

Sighing and clambering under his covers, Kuroo spoke, "You're right. That's all my life is now; alcohol and bad decisions."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys (thanks so much for reading by the way and congrats on making it this far).  
> I had an idea and I was wondering what you all would think.  
> I realise that I've been getting a little off track with this fic. It was originally supposed to be very Hinata and Kageyama centric but obviously I've diverged and now it feels like it's getting a bit more Kuroo or Oikawa centric (which is funny because Kuroo was supposed to be a very minor character idk what happened).  
> I was thinking that I could continue with this fic but being more Hinata and Kageyama centric (which will probably involve Oikawa, Tsukishima, etc quite a bit) and start a sort of side-fic more focused on the captains (Kuroo, Bokuto, Daichi, etc).  
> I would continue the story the same on both the fics and add them to a shared series but it was just in case any of you wanted to just read about Hinata and Kageyama, for example, because I feel the plot isn't turning out how I wanted it to and I'm being waaaay too self-indulgent and just sort of ranting about my favs. There would probably be a lot of overlaps with the fics but you guys wouldn't have to read both if you didn't want to.  
> I'm sorry if this makes no sense but it would be great to hear what you guys think.  
> Should I turn this into a series? idk I could have spin-offs for characters that have been briefly mentioned (Asahi, Noya, Tanaka, Lev) and maybe add other characters from the show an give them little spin-off fics.  
> Idk it might be a stupid idea but let me know what you guys think in the comments.  
> Thanks again for reading!


	15. I don't want to lie to you anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, long time no see! So, as some of you may already know, I'm caught up with studying for my exams at the moment so updates are a little on the slow side (apologies but there's not much I can do about that). I just had my first exam a couple hours ago (it went pretty well in case you were wondering) so I had a little time to update and write this angsty iwaoi chapter. It's nice to take a little break from revision and I find writing very relaxing so I'll probably be updating in the next couple of weeks.

Reluctantly rousing to the sound of the X-Files theme tune, Oikawa shut off his alarm and sighed. He sat unmoving under the covers on his bed for a while, mentally recalling the night before and counting how many mistakes he’d have to try and forget.

He never got hangovers so getting out of bed was the same as it was any other day - a painful yet completely necessary action.

Oikawa surveyed their mess of a room and came to the conclusion that it would probably be best to stay and tidy up. He counted at least 15 spills of miscellaneous liquids, innumerable crisps that had been trodden into the carpet and, the one that disturbed Oikawa the most, someone’s dirty underwear hanging over a lampshade.

Nonetheless, he had the competition coming up so he evaded the bomb site that he lived in and went off to practice. He would deal with the mess later when he had time.

Oikawa glided swiftly through the near empty corridors that he had long since grown used to. He held a neatly organised folder of sheet music under the arm that carried his violin and a cup of coffee that he had bought from the canteen in the other.

His two favourite times to practice were really late at night and super early in the morning because he knew his preferred practice room would be free. It was the room he and Iwaizumi usually occupied so most other students knew it was off-limits. However, Ukai also used it for piano lessons so they often had to temporarily relocate.

Ukai didn’t teach lessons on the weekend so he had an hour or so to get a bit of practice done before Iwaizumi turned up, most likely still drunk judging by the state he was in he previous night, for duet rehearsal.

He sat down at his second favourite piano in the entire world. His first favourite was the beautiful, absolutely ancient grand piano that he had first learned to play on.

His middle school had an amazing music department and they had access to some of the best instruments in the country. Most people liked the new, high-tech instruments they started installing but Oikawa had an obsession with the grand piano that sat, gathering dust for the most part, in an old music class room. It was always slightly out of tune but the school never seemed to be too keen to pay to get it tuned because no one but Oikawa ever used it.

Despite that, Oikawa thought it had a character that he hadn’t seen in any other instrument he’d ever played; even his own violin.

So he was sat in his practice room, music all set out, and started playing.

Things went by as usual for a while. He worked on his scales, played a couple pieces, milled over what he and Iwaizumi would play for the competition, but Oikawa couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

A tremor grew under his skin; that familiar niggling sensation that he tried so hard not to remember.

He took slow, even breaths and played. He kept playing and playing and playing until…

Oikawa shot up from the piano stool, causing it to topple over. He sent his music flying in frustration and cursed.

He looked down and studied his hands and wrists, his eyes burning holes into the skin. He was trying his best to stay calm.

_It’s all in your head_ ; he kept telling himself.

In an attempt to silence his thoughts, Oikawa furiously unpacked his violin and tuned it up. He tried to play normally but it felt like his body wasn’t listening to him anymore.

He played a note too quickly, too forcefully and searing pain shot up from his wrist to his shoulder.

He knew it wasn’t in his head anymore.

In a flurry of frustration, Oikawa kept playing. He played louder and faster hoping that somehow, if he ignored it, the pain would go away.

Of course, he was wrong. The pain got worse to the point where he could no longer play. He forced his violin back into its case, kneeling on the floor in front of it as if in defeat.

His eyes pooled with tears and he knew it wasn’t just from the physical pain in his wrist.

_This is it_ , he thought, _it’s all over._

He had reached the point that he always would some day; it had always niggled at the back of his mind whenever he stayed up late to practice, but it was something that he had ignored for so long.

He remembered the last time Iwaizumi had gone off at him when it got this bad. 

_“This is my future, Iwa-chan!”_

_“You’re destroying you furture, Tooru.”_

More than anything he was angry at himself for being so stupid. He had seen this coming a mile away but he had been arrogant and blind, refusing to see the truth that was standing right in front of him.

Oikawa raised his head and looked at the violin in its case. The rage boiled up inside of him and he shoved the chair with the case on it onto its side. The violin, along with everything else in the case, went crashing to the ground in a spectacular show of noise and carnage.

Amongst the wreckage of violin parts and sheet music, Oikawa saw something fall out of the case. It was something that he hoped he’d never see again.

He practically crawled over on his knees to the case and picked up the wrist support, studying it with shaky hands.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered softly, curling into himself and clutching the wrist support close to his chest.

The tremor in his hands made it nearly impossible for Oikawa to pull the material over his hands and around his wrist. He winched and he tried to rotate his wrist, the joints making some discouraging clicking noises.

“Iwa-chan’s gonna kill me,” he whispered. His smile was affectionate but tears stained his t-shirt. He pulled the sleeves of his shirt over his hands to conceal it as best as he could.

About ten minutes later, Oikawa had cleaned up the destruction he’d caused and was back at the piano. Slowly, he started to play again.

Things seemed to be looking up a little when he felt that he could still play fine and he thought that maybe he had overreacted. This was until his wrist protested and sent another shooting pain through his upper body. He cried out and pulled his arms back into his chest, cradling his injured wrist.

Oikawa debated whether to call Iwaizumi. He really wanted to speak to him, be comforted by him. He just wanted someone to tell him everything was going to be okay. 

But, just as Oikawa had expected, Iwaizumi turned up not too long after.

“Morning, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa decided to play it nonchalant. He pulled his shirt sleeves far over his hands and made sure to dry his eyes discreetly.

Iwaizumi groaned before gulping down some water and collapsing onto a chair, “I’m never drinking again. Ever.”

Oikawa laughed. Memories from last night popped up in his head and he squirmed noticeably. “Yeah, you did get pretty drunk.”

“This is all your fault, Shittykawa.”

“Hey! You can’t put this all on me. I didn’t pressure you into anything,” Oikawa lowered his voice slightly out of embarrassment, “Wish the same could be said for you.”

“What?” Iwaizumi looked genuinely confused. Oikawa could see the cogs turning in his brain as he tried to remember everything that happened last night.

“You don’t remember?”

“Everything after spin the bottle is a blur.”

Oikawa mentally cursed. This was going to be awkward.

He was secretly nervous that Iwaizumi didn’t actually mean anything he said or did last night; that he just did it because he was drunk.

Oikawa put his head in his hands, another habit of his that Iwaizumi had picked up on. He always tried to hide his face when he was embarrassed about something.

“Oh god, what did I do?” There was terror in Iwaizumi’s eyes as he racked his brain even more furiously.

“No, no. It was nothing bad. We were just, you know, kissing a lot and…some other stuff.”

Iwaizumi gaped and he gasped in shock, “Did we…?”

Oikawa’s cheeks immediately heated up, “No! No, we didn’t. I mean, we almost did, but I didn’t think it was right, we were both really drunk.”

Iwaizumi was the one with his head in his hands now. He shook it from side to side, regretfully, “Oh man. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Oikawa said feebly.

Iwaizumi looked up from his hands at Oikawa. Of course he could sense something was off; he always could. He forced himself up from his chair and scooted onto the piano stool next to Oikawa. This was starting to become a recurring theme with them.

“What’s wrong?”

Oikawa rolled his eyes but they were still a little glassy. He scoffed and inched away a little as he pulled the sleeves of his shirt down even further.

“You got a hangover or something?” Iwaizumi leaned in to press the back of his hand against Oikawa’s forehead, checking him for a temperature.

Oikawa swatted him away with his good hand, “I’m fine, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi’s brows furrowed and he took a moment to properly look at Oikawa. Did he think he was blind or dumb?

“You’ve been crying.” Iwaizumi swung his body round to straddle the piano stool so he was directly facing Oikawa.

Panicking, Oikawa brought his sleeves up to his eyes to dry them, “It’s just allergies.”

“Are there suddenly peanuts falling from the sky or something? Just tell me what’s-“ Iwaizumi inched in closer and Oikawa started flailing his arms around in an attempt to deter him. Iwaizumi stopped mid-sentence as he caught hold of Oikawa’s wrist and dragged the material of his shirt down.

Before even a word was said, Oikawa was crying again. He dipped forward and clung to Iwaizumi’s shoulders, pressing his head against his neck and dripping tears down the front of his shirt.

Iwaizumi still had hold of Oikawa’s arm and he traced his thumb up and down the wrist support.

“I’m so sorry, Iwa-chan. I should’ve listened to you. I’m so stupid.” Oikawa was near hysterical at this point but Iwaizumi still hadn’t said a word.

Oikawa pulled his injured wrist from Iwaizumi’s grip and took his arm around Iwaizumi’s shoulder to clutch tighter to him. His fingers tugged at the back of his shirt, his voice quiet and breathy, “Iwa-chan, please say something.”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know,” Oikawa pulled closer, clung tighter, “Just that everything will be okay and I’ll get better and I won’t have to quit playing.”

That was when Iwaizumi brought his arms up around Oikawa to hold him close, “That’s what I say every time, right?”

Oikawa nodded. Iwaizumi didn’t see the movement but he felt it.

He started to rub Oikawa’s back, slow and comforting. The dampness on his shirt had formed a small, wet pool on his shoulders.

“I don’t want to lie to you anymore, Tooru.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/kudos/whatever are very much appreciated and I really welcome feedback so thanks in advance if you leave any!


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